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Do not fill this in! {{Short description|Country primarily located in North America}} {{Redirect-several|America|US|USA|The United States of America|United States}} {{pp-move}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use American English|date=January 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = United States of America | common_name = United States | image_flag = Flag of the United States (DoS ECA Color Standard).svg | alt_flag = {{nbsp}} <!--Used to denote purely decorative images--> | flag_type_article = Flag of the United States | image_coat = Greater coat of arms of the United States.svg | coat_alt = {{nbsp}} <!--Used to denote purely decorative images--> | symbol_type_article = Great Seal of the United States#Obverse | national_motto = "[[In God We Trust]]"<ref>{{USC|36|302}}</ref>{{collapsible list |title={{nowrap|Other traditional mottos:<ref name="de facto Motto">{{cite web|publisher=[[U.S. Department of State]], [[Bureau of Public Affairs]]|year=2003|url= https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/27807.pdf|title=The Great Seal of the United States|access-date=February 12, 2020}}</ref>}} |titlestyle=background:transparent;text-align:center;line-height:1.15em; |liststyle=text-align:center;white-space:nowrap; |{{native phrase|la|"[[E pluribus unum]]"|italics=off}}<br />"Out of many, one" |{{native phrase|la|"[[Annuit cœptis]]"|italics=off}}<br />"Providence favors our undertakings" |{{native phrase|la|"[[Novus ordo seclorum]]"|italics=off}}<br />"New order of the ages" }} | national_anthem = "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]"<ref>{{cite act|date=March 3, 1931|article=14|article-type=H.R.|legislature=[[71st United States Congress]]|title=An Act To make The Star-Spangled Banner the national anthem of the United States of America|url=https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=46&page=1508}}</ref><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:Star Spangled Banner instrumental.ogg]]</div> <!-- Commented out, as not [[WP:DUE]] for lead. | march="[[The Stars and Stripes Forever]]"<ref name="urluscode.house.gov">{{cite web|url=https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=112&page=1263|title=uscode.house.gov|date=August 12, 1999|website=Public Law 105-225|publisher=uscode.house.gov|pages=112 Stat. 1263|quote=Section 304. "The composition by John Philip Sousa entitled 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' is the national march."|access-date=September 10, 2017}}</ref><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:March, "The Stars and Stripes Forever" · Colonel John R. Bourgeois, Director · John Philip Sousa · United States Marine Band.ogg]]</div> --> <!-- Consensus map, see talk page. -->| image_map = {{Switcher|[[File:USA orthographic.svg|frameless|alt=Orthographic map of the U.S. in North America]]|Show globe ([[U.S. state|states]] and [[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]] only)|[[File:US insular areas SVG.svg|upright=1.15|frameless|alt=World map showing the U.S. and its territories]]|Show the U.S. and [[Territories of the United States|its territories]]|[[File:NOAA Map of the US EEZ.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show territories with [[Exclusive economic zone of the United States|exclusive economic zone]]|default=1}} | map_width = 220px | capital = [[Washington, D.C.]]<br />{{coord|38|53|N|77|1|W|display=inline}} | largest_city = [[New York City]]<br />{{coord|40|43|N|74|0|W|display=inline}} | official_languages = None at the [[Federal government of the United States|federal level]]{{efn|name=officiallanguage|30 of 50 states recognize only English as an official language. The state of [[Hawaii]] recognizes both [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and English as official languages, the state of [[Alaska]] officially recognizes 20 [[Alaska Native languages]] alongside English, and the state of [[South Dakota]] recognizes [[Sioux language|O'ceti Sakowin]] as an official language.}} | languages_type = [[National language]] | languages = [[American English|English]]{{efn|English is the [[de facto]] language. For more information, see [[Languages of the United States]].}} <!-- NOTE: For English, don't add "American English" -->| ethnic_groups = {{plainlist|''By race:'' * 61.6% [[White Americans|White]] * 12.4% [[African Americans|Black]] * 6.0% [[Asian Americans|Asian]] * 1.1% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] * 0.2% [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] * 10.2% [[Multiracial Americans|two or more races]] * 8.4% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|other]] }} {{plainlist|''By origin:'' * 81.3% non-Hispanic or Latino * 18.7% [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] }} | ethnic_groups_year = 2020 | ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name="2020CensusData">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html|title=2020 Census Illuminates Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Country|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref><ref name="2020InteractiveCensusData">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html?linkId=100000060666476|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=August 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1014710483/2020-census-data-us-race-ethnicity-diversity|title=A Breakdown of 2020 Census Demographic Data|date=August 13, 2021|publisher=NPR|access-date=}}</ref> | demonym = [[Americans|American]]{{efn|name=demonym|The historical and informal demonym [[Yankee]] has been applied to Americans, New Englanders, or northeasterners since the 18th century.}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact-index: Ohio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uV5tvKPO684C&q=%22national+nicknames%22+Yankee|year=1963|page=336}}</ref> | government_type = [[Federalism in the United States|Federal]] presidential republic <!-- Consensus is to list President, Vice President, Chief Justice, and Speaker of the House -->| leader_title1 = [[President of the United States|President]] | leader_name1 = [[Joe Biden]] | leader_title2 = [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] | leader_name2 = [[Kamala Harris]] | leader_title3 = [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]] | leader_name3 = [[Mike Johnson (Louisiana politician)|Mike Johnson]] | leader_title4 = [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] | leader_name4 = [[John Roberts]] | legislature = [[United States Congress|Congress]] | upper_house = [[United States Senate|Senate]] | lower_house = [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] | sovereignty_type = [[History of the United States|Independence]] | sovereignty_note = from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] | established_event1 = [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration]] | established_date1 = {{Start date|1776|7|4}} | established_event2 = [[Confederation period|Confederation]] | established_date2 = {{Start date|1781|3|1}} | established_event3 = [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Recognized]] | established_date3 = {{Start date|1783|9|3}} | established_event4 = [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] | established_date4 = {{Start date|1788|6|21}} | established_event5 = [[Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution|Last Amendment]] | established_date5 = {{Start date|1992|5|5}} | area_link = Geography of the United States | area_label = Total area | area_footnote = <ref>Areas of the 50 states and the District of Columbia but not Puerto Rico nor other island territories per {{cite web| date = August 2010| title = State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates| work = [[Census.gov]]| url = https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html| access-date = March 31, 2020| quote = reflect base feature updates made in the MAF/TIGER database through August, 2010.}}</ref> | area_rank = 3rd{{efn|name=largestcountry}} | area_sq_mi = 3,796,742 | percent_water = 7.0<ref>{{cite web|title=The Water Area of Each State|access-date=January 29, 2024|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|url=https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/how-wet-your-state-water-area-each-state|year=2018}}</ref> (2010) | area_label2 = Land area | area_data2 = {{convert|3,531,905|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}} (3rd) | population_census = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 331,449,281{{efn|name="pop"}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/2020-census-data-release.html|title=U.S. Census Bureau Today Delivers State Population Totals for Congressional Apportionment|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=April 26, 2021}} The 2020 census is as of April 1, 2020.</ref> | population_census_year = 2020 | population_estimate = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 334,914,895<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bureau |first=US Census |title=U.S. Population Trends Return to Pre-Pandemic Norms as More States Gain Population |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-trends-return-to-pre-pandemic-norms.html |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Census.gov}}</ref> | population_estimate_year = 2023 | population_census_rank = 3rd | population_density_sq_mi = 87<!-- Figure uses (population/land + water area) as of July 2019. --> | population_density_rank = 185th | GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $28.781 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.US">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=111,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024 Edition. (US) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024}}</ref> | GDP_PPP_year = 2024 | GDP_PPP_rank = 2nd | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $85,373<ref name="IMFWEO.US" /> | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 9th | GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $28.781 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.US" /> | GDP_nominal_year = 2024 | GDP_nominal_rank = 1st | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $85,373<ref name="IMFWEO.US" /> | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 7th | Gini = 39.4<!-- Number only. --> | Gini_year = 2020 | Gini_change = increase | Gini_ref = {{efn|After adjustment for taxes and transfers}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2021/demo/income-poverty/p60-273.html|title=Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020|first=US Census|last=Bureau|newspaper=Census.gov |page=48|access-date=July 26, 2022}}</ref> | HDI = 0.927<!-- Number only. --> | HDI_year = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. --> | HDI_change = increase<!-- Increase/decrease/steady. --> | HDI_ref = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2023/24|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=13 March 2024|access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref> | HDI_rank = 20th | currency = [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] ($) | currency_code = USD | utc_offset = −4 to −12, +10, +11 | utc_offset_DST = −4 to −10{{efn|name="time"}} | date_format = mm/dd/yyyy{{efn|See [[Date and time notation in the United States]].}} | drives_on = Right{{efn|name="drive"}} | calling_code = [[North American Numbering Plan|+1]] | iso3166code = US | cctld = [[.us]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cozab.com/the-difference-between-us-vs-com/|title=The Difference Between .us vs .com|date=January 3, 2022|website=Cozab|access-date=August 11, 2023|archive-date=April 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416200528/https://cozab.com/the-difference-between-us-vs-com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> | religion = {{ublist|item_style=white-space:nowrap; |{{Tree list}} * 70% [[Christianity in the United States|Christianity]] ** 34% [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]] ** 23% [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholicism]] ** 2% [[Mormons|Mormonism]] **11% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]] {{Tree list/end}} |21% [[Irreligion in the United States|unaffiliated]] |2% [[American Jews|Judaism]] |6% [[Religion in the United States|other religion]] |1% unanswered }} | religion_year = 2022 | religion_ref = <ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Staff |date= June 8, 2007|title=In Depth: Topics A to Z (Religion) |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/1690/Religion.aspx |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=[[Gallup, Inc.]] |language=en}}</ref> }} The '''United States of America''' ('''USA''' or '''U.S.A.'''), commonly known as the '''United States''' ('''US''' or '''U.S.''') or '''America''', is a country primarily located in [[North America]]. It is [[Federalism in the United States|a federation]] of 50 [[U.S. state|states]], [[Federal district of the United States|a federal capital district]] ([[Washington, D.C.]]), and 326 [[Indian reservation]]s. Outside the union of states, it asserts sovereignty over five major [[Territories of the United States|unincorporated island territories]] and various [[United States Minor Outlying Islands|uninhabited islands]].{{efn|The five major territories outside the union of states are [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], [[Puerto Rico]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]]. The seven undisputed island areas without permanent populations are [[Baker Island]], [[Howland Island]], [[Jarvis Island]], [[Johnston Atoll]], [[Kingman Reef]], [[Midway Atoll]], and [[Palmyra Atoll]]. U.S. sovereignty over the unpopulated [[Bajo Nuevo Bank]], [[Navassa Island]], [[Serranilla Bank]], and [[Wake Island]] is disputed.<ref>U.S. State Department, [https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/179780.htm Common Core Document to U.N. Committee on Human Rights], December 30, 2011, Item 22, 27, 80. And U.S. General Accounting Office Report, [https://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf U.S. Insular Areas: application of the U.S. Constitution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103093032/https://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf|date=November 3, 2013 }}, November 1997, pp. 1, 6, 39n. Both viewed April 6, 2016.</ref>}} The country has the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by area|third-largest land area]],{{efn|At {{cvt|9,147,590|km2|order=flip}}, the United States is the third-largest country in the world by land area, behind [[Russia]] and [[China]]. By total area (land and water), it is the third-largest, behind Russia and Canada, if its coastal and territorial water areas are included. However, if only its internal waters are included (bays, sounds, rivers, lakes, and the [[Great Lakes]]), the U.S. is the fourth-largest, after Russia, Canada, and China. <br /> Coastal/territorial waters included: {{cvt|9,833,517|km2|order=flip}}<ref>{{cite web|title=China|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/|access-date=June 10, 2016|website=[[The World Factbook]]}}</ref> <br /> Only internal waters included: {{cvt|9,572,900|km2|order=flip}}<ref>{{cite web|title=United States|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/616563/United-States-quick-facts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219194413/https://www.britannica.com/topic/616563/United-States-quick-facts|archive-date=December 19, 2013|access-date=January 31, 2010|website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>|name=largestcountry}} second-largest [[Exclusive economic zone of the United States|exclusive economic zone]], and [[List of countries and dependencies by population|third-largest population]], exceeding 334 million.{{efn|The [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]]'s 2023 estimate was 334,914,895 residents. All official population figures are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia; they exclude the five major U.S. territories and outlying islands. The Census Bureau also provides a continuously updated but unofficial population clock in addition to [[United States census|its decennial census]] and [[Population Estimates Program|annual population estimates]]: [https://www.census.gov/popclock/ www.census.gov/popclock]|name=pop clock}} [[Paleo-Indians]] migrated across the [[Bering land bridge]] more than 12,000 years ago. [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization]] led to the first settlement of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] in [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] in 1607. Clashes with the [[The Crown|British Crown]] over taxation and [[No taxation without representation|political representation]] sparked the [[American Revolution]], with the [[Second Continental Congress]] formally [[United States Declaration of Independence|declaring independence]] on July 4, 1776. Following its victory in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] (1775–1783), the country continued to [[Territorial evolution of the United States|expand across North America]]. As more [[Admission to the Union|states were admitted]], sectional division over [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] led to the secession of the [[Confederate States of America]], which fought the remaining states of the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] during the 1861–1865 [[American Civil War]]. With the Union's victory and preservation, [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|slavery was abolished nationally]]. By 1890, the United States had established itself as a [[great power]]. After [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]'s [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941, the U.S. [[Military history of the United States during World War II|entered World War II]]. The [[Aftermath of World War II|aftermath of the war]] left the U.S. and the [[Soviet Union]] as the world's two [[superpowers]] and led to the [[Cold War]], during which both countries engaged in a struggle for ideological dominance and international influence. Following the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union's collapse]] and the [[Cold War (1985–1991)|end of the Cold War]] in 1991, the U.S. emerged as the world's sole superpower. The [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. national government]] is a [[Presidential system|presidential]] [[Constitution of the United States|constitutional]] [[republic]] and [[liberal democracy]] with [[Separation of powers under the United States Constitution|three separate branches]]: [[United States Congress|legislative]], [[United States federal executive departments|executive]], and [[Federal judiciary of the United States|judicial]]. It has a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] national legislature composed of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], a [[lower house]] based on population; and the [[United States Senate|Senate]], an [[upper house]] based on equal representation for each [[U.S. state|state]]. Substantial autonomy [[Policies of states in the United States|is given to states and several territories]], with [[Politics of the United States|a political culture]] that emphasizes [[liberty]], [[equality under the law]], [[individualism]], and [[limited government]]. One of the world's [[Developed country|most developed countries]], the United States has had the [[List of countries by largest historical GDP|largest nominal GDP since 1890]] and accounted for 15% of the [[world economy|global economy]] in 2023.{{efn|By [[purchasing power parity]]}} It possesses by far the [[List of countries by total wealth|largest amount of wealth]] of any country and the [[Disposable household and per capita income|highest median income per capita]] of any non-[[microstate]]. The U.S. ranks [[International rankings of the United States|among the world's highest]] in [[Global Competitiveness Report#2022 rankings|economic competitiveness]], [[List of countries by labour productivity|productivity]], [[Global Innovation Index|innovation]], [[Human rights in the United States|human rights]], and [[Higher education in the United States|higher education]]. Its [[hard power]] and [[Americanization|cultural influence]] have a global reach. The U.S. is a founding member of the [[World Bank]], [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], [[Organization of American States]], [[NATO]], [[World Health Organization]], and a [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent member of the UN Security Council]]. == Etymology == {{Further|Names of the United States|Demonyms for the United States}} The first documentary evidence of the phrase "United States of America" dates back to a letter from January 2, 1776, written by [[Stephen Moylan]], a [[Continental Army]] aide to General [[George Washington]], to [[Joseph Reed (politician)|Joseph Reed]], Washington's [[aide-de-camp]]. Moylan expressed his desire to go "with full and ample powers from the United States of America to Spain" to seek assistance in the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] effort.<ref>DeLear, Byron (July 4, 2013) [https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2013/0704/Who-coined-United-States-of-America-Mystery-might-have-intriguing-answer Who coined 'United States of America'? Mystery might have intriguing answer.] ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (Boston, MA).</ref><ref>Fay, John (July 15, 2016) [https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/The-forgotten-Irishman-who-named-the-United-States-of-America.html The forgotten Irishman who named the 'United States of America'] "According to the NY Historical Society, Stephen Moylan was the man responsible for the earliest documented use of the phrase 'United States of America'. But who was Stephen Moylan?" ''IrishCentral.com''</ref> The first known publication of the phrase "United States of America" was in an anonymous essay in ''[[The Virginia Gazette]]'' newspaper in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]], on April 6, 1776.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Virginia Gazette|title=''"To the inhabitants of Virginia", by A PLANTER''. Dixon and Hunter's. April 6, 1776, Williamsburg, Virginia. The letter is also included in Peter Force's ''American Archives''|url=https://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16|issue=1287|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219053616/https://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGIssueThumbs.cfm?IssueIDNo=76.DH.16|archive-date=December 19, 2014|volume=5}}</ref> By June 1776, the name "United States of America" appeared in drafts of the [[Articles of Confederation]] and [[Perpetual Union]], authored by [[John Dickinson]], a [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] from the [[Province of Pennsylvania]],{{sfn|Safire|2003|p=199}}{{sfn|Mostert|2005|p=18}} and in the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], written primarily by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and adopted by the [[Second Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]], on July 4, 1776.{{sfn|Safire|2003|p=199}}<ref name="Davis7">[[#Davis96|Davis, 1996]], p. 7.</ref> == History == {{Main|History of the United States}} {{For outline|Outline of United States history}} === Indigenous peoples === {{Further|Native Americans in the United States|Pre-Columbian era}} [[File:Extreme_Makeover,_Mesa_Verde_Edition_-_panoramio.jpg|left|thumb|[[Cliff Palace]], built by [[Ancestral Puebloans]] in present-day [[Montezuma County, Colorado]], between {{Circa|1200 and 1275}}<ref>[https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cliff-palace "Cliff Palace"] at Colorado Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 31, 2024</ref>]] The [[Paleo-Indians|first inhabitants of North America]] migrated from [[Siberia]] across the [[Bering land bridge]] at least 12,000 years ago;{{sfn|Erlandson|Rick|Vellanoweth|2008|p=19}}{{sfn|Savage|2011|page=55}} the [[Clovis culture]], which appeared around 11,000 BC, is believed to be the first widespread culture in the Americas.{{sfn|Waters|Stafford|2007|pages=1122–1126}}{{sfn|Flannery|2015|pages=173–185}} Over time, indigenous North American cultures grew increasingly sophisticated, and some, such as the [[Mississippian culture]], developed [[Eastern Agricultural Complex|agriculture]], [[Southeastern Ceremonial Complex|architecture]], and complex societies.{{sfn|Lockard|2010|page=315}} Indigenous peoples and cultures such as the [[Algonquian peoples]],<ref>Smithsonian Institution—Handbook of North American Indians series: ''Handbook of North American Indians,'' Volume 15—Northeast. Bruce G. Trigger (volume editor). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. 1978 References to Indian burning for the Eastern Algonquians, Virginia Algonquians, Northern Iroquois, Huron, Mahican, and Delaware Tribes and peoples.</ref> [[Ancestral Puebloans]],{{sfn|Fagan|2016|page=390}} and the [[Iroquois]] developed across the present-day United States.<ref name="Dean Snow2">{{cite book |last=Snow |first=Dean R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7e82KQoX6IC&q=iroquois+basque&pg=PA1 |title=The Iroquois |publisher=Blackwell Publishers, Ltd. |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-55786-938-8 |access-date=July 16, 2010}}</ref> [[Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native population estimates]] of what is now the United States before the arrival of European immigrants range from around 500,000{{sfn|Thornton|1998|page=34}}{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}} to nearly 10 million.{{sfn|Perdue|Green|2005|page=40}}{{sfn|Haines|Haines|Steckel|2000|page=12}} === European colonization === {{Main|Colonial history of the United States}} {{See also|European colonization of the Americas}} [[File:Nouvelle-France map-en.svg|thumb|The 1750 [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial]] possessions of [[British colonization of the Americas|Britain]] (in pink and purple), [[New France|France]] (in blue), and [[Kingdom of Spain|Spain]] (in orange) in present-day [[Canada]] and the United States]] [[Christopher Columbus]] began exploring the [[Caribbean]] in 1492, leading to [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] settlements in present-day Puerto Rico, Florida, and [[New Mexico]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Frederick T. |year=1932 |title=The Record of Ponce de Leon's Discovery of Florida, 1513 |url=http://palmm.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/ucf%3A21231 |journal=The QUARTERLY Periodical of THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY |volume=XI |issue=1 |pages=5–6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Florida Center for Instructional Technology |url=https://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/menendz/menendz1.htm |title=A Short History of Florida |date=2002 |publisher=University of South Florida |chapter=Pedro Menendez de Aviles Claims Florida for Spain}}<!--Online textbook for Florida public schools.--></ref><ref>{{cite web |date=February 28, 2015 |title=Not So Fast, Jamestown: St. Augustine Was Here First |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/02/28/389682893/not-so-fast-jamestown-st-augustine-was-here-first |access-date=March 5, 2021 |publisher=NPR |language=en}}</ref> [[Kingdom of France|France]] established [[New France|its own settlements]] along the [[Mississippi River]] and [[Gulf of Mexico]].<ref name="Petto20072">{{cite book |author=Petto |first=Christine Marie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ZiaAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA125 |title=When France Was King of Cartography: The Patronage and Production of Maps in Early Modern France |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7391-6247-7 |page=125}}</ref> [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonization]] of the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] began with the [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia Colony]] (1607) and [[Plymouth Colony]] (1620).<ref name="Jr.Selby20182">{{cite book |last1=Seelye |first1=James E. Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgVnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA344 |title=Shaping North America: From Exploration to the American Revolution [3 volumes] |last2=Selby |first2=Shawn |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4408-3669-5 |page=344}}</ref><ref name="BellahSullivan20062">{{cite book |last1=Bellah |first1=Robert Neelly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5DQHmykT6u4C&pg=PA220 |title=Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life |last2=Madsen |first2=Richard |last3=Sullivan |first3=William M. |last4=Swidler |first4=Ann |last5=Tipton |first5=Steven M. |publisher=University of California Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-520-05388-5 |page=220 |ol=7708974M}}</ref> The [[Mayflower Compact]] and the [[Fundamental Orders of Connecticut]] established precedents for representative [[self-governance]] and [[constitutionalism]] that would develop throughout the American colonies.<ref name="Remini2–32">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Remini|2007|pp=2–3}}</ref><ref name="Johnson26–302">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Johnson|1997|pp=26–30}}</ref> While European settlers in what is now the United States experienced conflicts with Native Americans, they also engaged in trade, exchanging European tools for food and animal pelts.<ref>[[United States#Ripper2008|Ripper, 2008]] p. 6</ref>{{efn|From the late 15th century, the [[Columbian exchange]] had been catastrophic for native populations throughout the Americas. It is estimated [[Virgin soil epidemic|that up to 95 percent of the indigenous populations]], especially in the Caribbean, [[Native American disease and epidemics|perished from infectious diseases during the years following European colonization]];<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ehrenpreis |first1=Jamie E. |last2=Ehrenpreis |first2=Eli D. |date=April 2022 |title=A Historical Perspective of Healthcare Disparity and Infectious Disease in the Native American Population |journal=The American Journal of the Medical Sciences |volume=363 |issue=4 |pages=288–294 |doi=10.1016/j.amjms.2022.01.005 |issn=0002-9629 |pmc=8785365 |pmid=35085528}}</ref> remaining populations were often displaced by European expansion.{{sfn|Joseph|2016|page=590}}<ref>[[United States#Stannard|Stannard, 1993]] p. [[iarchive:americanholocaus00stan|xii]]</ref>}} Relations ranged from close cooperation to warfare and massacres. The colonial authorities often pursued policies that forced Native Americans to adopt European lifestyles, including conversion to Christianity.<ref>[[United States#Ripper2008|Ripper, 2008]] p. 5</ref><ref>[[United States#Calloway1998|Calloway, 1998]], p. 55</ref> Along the eastern seaboard, settlers [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|trafficked African slaves]] through the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Hugh |url=https://archive.org/details/slavetradestoryo00thom/page/516 |title=The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440{{ndash}}1870 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1997 |isbn=0-684-83565-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/slavetradestoryo00thom/page/516 516] |url-access=registration}}</ref> The original [[Thirteen Colonies]]{{efn|[[Province of New Hampshire|New Hampshire]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts]], [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]], [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]], [[Province of New York|New York]], [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]], [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], [[Delaware Colony|Delaware]], [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]], [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]], [[Province of North Carolina|North Carolina]], [[Province of South Carolina|South Carolina]], and [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]]}} that would later found the United States were administered by [[British Empire|Great Britain]],<ref name="BilhartzElliott20072">{{cite book |author1=Bilhartz, Terry D. |url=https://archive.org/details/currentsinameric0000bilh |title=Currents in American History: A Brief History of the United States |author2=Elliott, Alan C. |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7656-1817-7 |url-access=registration}}</ref> and had [[Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies|local governments]] with elections open to most white male property owners.<ref name="Wood19982">{{cite book |author=Wood |first=Gordon S. |url=https://archive.org/details/creationofameric0000wood_r7v4 |title=The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787 |publisher=UNC Press Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8078-4723-7 |page=263}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ratcliffe |first=Donald |year=2013 |title=The Right to Vote and the Rise of Democracy, 1787–1828 |journal=Journal of the Early Republic |volume=33 |issue=2 |page=220 |doi=10.1353/jer.2013.0033 |s2cid=145135025}}</ref> The colonial population grew rapidly, eclipsing Native American populations;<ref>[[United States#Walton|Walton, 2009]], pp. 38–39</ref> by the 1770s, the natural increase of the population was such that only a small minority of Americans had been born overseas.<ref>[[United States#Walton|Walton, 2009]], p. 35</ref> The colonies' distance from Britain allowed for the development of self-governance,<ref>{{cite book |author=Otis |first=James |url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_52678 |title=The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved |year=1763 |isbn=978-0-665-52678-7}}</ref> and the [[First Great Awakening]], a series of [[Christian revival]]s, fueled colonial interest in [[Freedom of religion|religious liberty]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Foner |first1=Eric |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofamericanf00fone |title=The Story of American Freedom |date=1998 |publisher=W.W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-04665-6 |edition=1st |pages=[https://archive.org/details/storyofamericanf00fone/page/4 4]–5 |quote=story of American freedom. |url-access=registration}}</ref> ===American Revolution and Revolutionary War=== {{Main|American Revolution|American Revolutionary War}} {{Further|History of the United States (1776–1789)|History of the United States (1789–1815)}} [[File:Declaration_independence.jpg|alt=See caption|thumb|''[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|Declaration of Independence]]'', a portrait by [[John Trumbull]] depicting the [[Committee of Five]] presenting the draft of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration]] to the [[Second Continental Congress|Continental Congress]] on June 28, 1776, in [[Philadelphia]]]] After winning the [[French and Indian War]], Britain began to assert greater control over local colonial affairs, creating [[American Revolution|colonial political resistance]]; one of the primary colonial grievances was a denial of their [[Rights of Englishmen|rights as Englishmen]], particularly the right to [[No taxation without representation|representation in the British government that taxed them]]. In 1774, the [[First Continental Congress]] met in [[Philadelphia]], and passed a [[Continental Association|colonial boycott of British goods]] that proved effective. The British attempt to then disarm the colonists resulted in the 1775 [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]], igniting the [[American Revolutionary War]]. At the [[Second Continental Congress]], the colonies appointed [[George Washington]] commander-in-chief of the [[Continental Army]] and created [[Committee of Five|a committee]] led by [[Thomas Jefferson]] to write the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], adopted on July 4, 1776.<ref name="YoungNash20112">{{cite book |author1=Fabian Young, Alfred |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QEzaLJ4u_MEC&pg=PA4 |title=Revolutionary Founders: Rebels, Radicals, and Reformers in the Making of the Nation |author2=Nash, Gary B. |author3=Raphael, Ray |publisher=Random House Digital |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-307-27110-5 |pages=4–7}}</ref> The political values of the American Revolution included [[liberty]]'','' [[Natural rights and legal rights|inalienable individual rights]]; and the [[Popular sovereignty|sovereignty of the people]];<ref>Yick Wo vs. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 370</ref> supporting [[Republicanism in the United States|republicanism]] and rejecting [[monarchy]], [[aristocracy]], and hereditary political power; virtue and faithfulness in the performance of civic duties; and vilification of [[corruption]].<ref>Richard Buel, ''Securing the Revolution: Ideology in American Politics, 1789–1815'' (1972)</ref> The [[Founding Fathers of the United States]], which included George Washington, [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Alexander Hamilton]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[John Jay]], [[James Madison]], [[Thomas Paine]], and [[John Adams]], were inspired by [[Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman]], [[Renaissance]], and [[Age of Enlightenment]] philosophies and ideas.<ref>Becker et al (2002), ch 1</ref><ref name="SEoP-2006">{{cite web |date=19 June 2006 |title=Republicanism |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/republicanism/ |access-date=20 September 2022 |website=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}</ref> After the British surrender at the [[siege of Yorktown]] in 1781, American sovereignty was internationally recognized by the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)]], through which the U.S. gained territory stretching west to the Mississippi River, north to present-day Canada, and south to [[Spanish Florida]].<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Miller |editor-first=Hunter |title=British-American Diplomacy: The Paris Peace Treaty of September 30, 1783 |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/paris.asp |publisher=The Avalon Project at Yale Law School}}</ref> Ratified in 1781, the [[Articles of Confederation]] established a decentralized government that operated until 1789.<ref name="YoungNash20112" /> The [[Northwest Ordinance]] (1787) established the precedent by which the country's territory would expand with the [[Admission to the Union|admission of new states]], rather than the expansion of existing states.<ref>Shōsuke Satō, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PY0VAAAAYAAJ History of the land question in the United States]'', Johns Hopkins University, (1886), p. 352</ref> The [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]] was drafted at the 1787 [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] to overcome the limitations of the Articles; it went into effect in 1789, creating a federation administered by [[Separation of powers|three branches]] on the principle of [[checks and balances]].{{sfn|Foner|2020|p=524}} Washington [[1788–89 United States presidential election|was elected]] the country's first president under the Constitution, and the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] was adopted in 1791 to allay concerns by skeptics of the more centralized government;{{sfn|OpenStax|2014|loc=§ [https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/8-1-competing-visions-federalists-and-democratic-republicans 8.1]}}{{sfn|Foner|2020|pp=538-540}} [[George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief#Legacy|his resignations first as commander-in-chief]] after the Revolution and later as president set a precedent followed by [[John Adams]], establishing the [[Peaceful transition of power|peaceful transfer of power]] between rival parties.<ref name="BoyerJr.20072">[[United States#Boyer|Boyer, 2007]], pp. 192–193</ref>{{sfn|OpenStax|2014|loc=§ [https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/8-1-competing-visions-federalists-and-democratic-republicans 8.3]}} ===Westward expansion=== {{Further||History of the United States (1815–1849)|Territorial evolution of the United States}} [[File:US Slave Free 1789-1861.gif|thumb|Animation showing the free/slave status of U.S. states and territories expansion, 1789–1861]] In the late 18th century, American settlers began to [[Territorial evolution of the United States|expand westward]], some with a sense of [[manifest destiny]].<ref name="MD20072">{{Cite book |last1=Carlisle |first1=Rodney P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/659807062 |title=Manifest destiny and the expansion of America |last2=Golson |first2=J. Geoffrey |date=2007 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-834-7 |series=Turning Points in History Series |location=Santa Barbara, Calif. |page=238 |oclc=659807062}}</ref> The [[Louisiana Purchase]] (1803) from France nearly doubled the territory of the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louisiana Purchase |url=https://www.nps.gov/jeff/historyculture/upload/louisiana_purchase.pdf |access-date=March 1, 2011 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> [[Origins of the War of 1812|Lingering issues with Britain remained]], leading to the [[War of 1812]], which was fought to a draw.<ref name="Wait19992">{{cite book |last=Wait |first=Eugene M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=puuQ30N0EsIC&pg=PA78 |title=America and the War of 1812 |publisher=Nova Publishers |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-56072-644-9 |page=78}}</ref> [[Adams–Onís Treaty|Spain ceded Florida]] and its Gulf Coast territory in 1819.<ref name="KloseJones19942">{{cite book |author1=Klose, Nelson |url=https://archive.org/details/unitedstateshist00klos_0/page/150 |title=United States History to 1877 |author2=Jones, Robert F. |publisher=Barron's Educational Series |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-8120-1834-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/unitedstateshist00klos_0/page/150 150]}}</ref> The [[Missouri Compromise]] attempted to balance desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it, admitting [[Missouri]] as a [[Slave states and free states|slave state]] and [[Maine#Statehood|Maine]] as a free state and declared a policy of prohibiting slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands north of the [[parallel 36°30′ north|36°30′ parallel]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hammond|first=John Craig|date=March 2019|title=President, Planter, Politician: James Monroe, the Missouri Crisis, and the Politics of Slavery|journal=Journal of American History|volume=105|issue=4|pages=843–867|doi=10.1093/jahist/jaz002}}</ref> As Americans expanded further into land inhabited by Native Americans, the federal government often applied [[Federal Indian Policy|policies]] of [[Indian removal]] or [[Cultural assimilation of Native Americans|assimilation]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frymer |first=Paul |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/981954623 |title=Building an American empire : the era of territorial and political expansion |date=2017 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-1-4008-8535-0 |location=Princeton, New Jersey |oclc=981954623}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Calloway |first=Colin G. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1035393060 |title=First peoples : a documentary survey of American Indian history |date=2019 |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's, Macmillan Learning |isbn=978-1-319-10491-7 |edition=6th |location=Boston |oclc=1035393060}}</ref> The infamous [[Trail of Tears]] (1830–1850) was a U.S. government policy that forcibly removed and displaced most Native Americans living east of the [[Mississippi River]] to lands far to the west. These and earlier organized displacements prompted a long series of [[American Indian Wars]] west of the Mississippi.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michno |first=Gregory |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Wars: Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850–1890 |date=2003 |publisher=Mountain Press Publishing |isbn=978-0-87842-468-9}}</ref><ref name="BillingtonRidge2001j2">{{cite book |author1=Billington, Ray Allen |url=https://archive.org/details/westwardexpansio00bill/page/22 |title=Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier |author2=Ridge, Martin |publisher=UNM Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8263-1981-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/westwardexpansio00bill/page/22 22] |author-link2=Martin Ridge (historian)}}</ref> The [[Republic of Texas]] was [[Texas annexation|annexed]] in 1845,<ref name="Morrison19992">{{cite book |author=Morrison, Michael A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTaxzMlkVEMC&pg=PA13 |title=Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War |date=April 28, 1997 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-4796-1 |pages=13–21}}</ref> and the 1846 [[Oregon Treaty]] led to U.S. control of the present-day [[Northwestern United States|American Northwest]].<ref name="Kemp20102">{{cite book |author=Kemp, Roger L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHawgM-WnlUC&pg=PA180 |title=Documents of American Democracy: A Collection of Essential Works |publisher=McFarland |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7864-4210-2 |page=180 |access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> Victory in the [[Mexican–American War]] resulted in the 1848 [[Mexican Cession]] of California and much of the present-day [[Southwestern United States|American Southwest]].<ref name="MD20072" /><ref name="McIlwraithMuller20012">{{cite book |author1=McIlwraith, Thomas F. |url=https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/61 |title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent |author2=Muller, Edward K. |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7425-0019-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/northamericahist00mcil/page/61 61] |access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The [[California Gold Rush]] of 1848–1849 spurred a huge migration of white settlers to the Pacific coast, leading to even more confrontations with Native populations. One of the most violent, the [[California genocide]] of thousands of Native inhabitants, lasted into the early 1870s,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/revealing-the-history-of-genocide-against-californias-native-americans|title=Revealing the history of genocide against California's Native Americans|last=Wolf|first=Jessica|website=UCLA Newsroom|language=en|access-date=July 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Madley |first=Benjamin |date=2016 |title=An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873. |publisher=Yale University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/americangenocide0000madl |url-access=registration |isbn= 9780300230697}}</ref> just as additional western territories and states were created.<ref name="Rawls1999">{{cite book|author=Rawls, James J.|title=A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in Gold Rush California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPUsIaHZTm0C&pg=PA20|year=1999|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-21771-3|page=20}}</ref> === Civil War === {{Main|History of the United States (1849–1865)|American Civil War}} [[File:US map 1864 Civil War divisions.svg|thumb|Division of the states during the [[American Civil War]]: {{legend|#204A87|[[Union (American Civil War)|Union states]]}} {{legend|#729FCF|[[Border states (American Civil War)|Border states]]}} {{legend|#A40000|[[Confederate States of America|Confederate states]]}} {{legend|#D3D7CF|[[Territories of the United States|Territories]]}}]] During the colonial period, [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|slavery was legal in the American colonies]], though the practice began to be significantly questioned during the American Revolution.{{sfnm|1a1=Walker Howe|1y=2007|1p=52–54|2a1=Wright|2y=2022}} States in [[Northern United States|The North]] enacted [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolition laws]],{{sfnm|1a1=Walker Howe|1y=2007|1p=52–54|2a1=Rodriguez|2y=2015|2p=XXXIV|3a1=Wright|3y=2022}} though support for slavery strengthened in [[Southern United States|Southern states]], as inventions such as the [[cotton gin]] made the institution increasingly profitable for [[Planter class|Southern elites]].<ref>[[United States#Walton|Walton, 2009]], p. 43</ref><ref>[[United States#Gordon|Gordon, 2004]], pp. 27,29</ref>{{sfn|Walker Howe|2007|p=478, 481–482, 587–588}} This [[Slave states and free states|sectional conflict]] regarding slavery [[Origins of the American Civil War|culminated]] in the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865).<ref>{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Stuart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJ_sy7mmmxQC&pg=PA76 |title=Atlas of American Military History |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-4381-3025-5 |page=76 |access-date=October 25, 2015}} {{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Harold T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kr-xNru5vZkC&pg=PA53 |title=Christian Social Witness |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-56101-188-9 |page=53}}</ref><ref name="Woods 2012 pp. 415–4392">{{cite journal |last=Woods |first=Michael E. |year=2012 |title=What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion: A Civil War Sesquicentennial Review of the Recent Literature |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44306803 |journal=The Journal of American History |publisher=[Oxford University Press, Organization of American Historians] |volume=99 |issue=2 |pages=415–439 |doi=10.1093/jahist/jas272 |issn=0021-8723 |jstor=44306803 |access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref> Eleven slave states [[seceded]] and formed the [[Confederate States of America]], while the other states remained in [[Union (American Civil War)|the Union]].<ref name="Silkenat 2019 p. 252">{{cite book |last=Silkenat |first=D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHWKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4696-4973-3 |series=Civil War America |page=25 |access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref> War broke out in April 1861 after the Confederacy [[Battle of Fort Sumter|bombarded Fort Sumter]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Vinovskis |first=Maris |title=Toward A Social History of the American Civil War: Exploratory Essays |date=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-39559-5 |location=Cambridge; New York |page=4}}</ref> After the January 1863 [[Emancipation Proclamation]], many freed slaves joined the Union Army.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/ |title=The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War|work=[[National Archives and Records Administration|U.S. National Archives and Records Administration]]|date=August 15, 2016|quote=By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy.}}</ref> The war [[Turning point of the American Civil War|began to turn in the Union's favor]] following the 1863 [[Siege of Vicksburg]] and [[Battle of Gettysburg]], and the Confederacy surrendered in 1865 after the Union's victory in the [[Battle of Appomattox Court House]].<ref>Davis, Jefferson. [https://archive.org/stream/ashorthistoryco00davigoog#page/n544/mode/2up/search/surrender+at+Appomattox ''A Short History of the Confederate States of America''], 1890, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-175-82358-8}}. Available free online as an ebook. Chapter LXXXVIII, "Re-establishment of the Union by force", p. 503. Retrieved March 14, 2012.</ref> The [[Reconstruction era]] followed the war. After [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|the assassination]] of President [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Reconstruction Amendments]] were passed to [[Civil rights movement (1865–1896)|protect the rights of African Americans]]. National infrastructure, including [[First transcontinental telegraph|transcontinental telegraph]] and [[First transcontinental railroad|railroads]], spurred growth in the [[American frontier]].<ref name="Black2011kj2">{{cite book |last=Black |first=Jeremy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIst_CSWOqIC&pg=PA275 |title=Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519–1871 |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-253-35660-4 |page=275 |author-link=Jeremy Black (historian)}}</ref> === Post-Civil War era === {{Main|History of the United States (1865–1917)}} [[File:Emigrants (i.e. immigrants) landing at Ellis Island -.webm|thumb|An [[Edison Studios]] film showing immigrants arriving at [[Ellis Island]] in [[New York Harbor]], a major point of entry for European [[Immigration to the United States|immigrants]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries<ref name="PriceBenton-Short2008">{{cite book|first1=Marie|last1=Price|first2=Lisa|last2=Benton-Short|title=Migrants to the Metropolis: The Rise of Immigrant Gateway Cities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Tb5HMB63xAC&pg=PA51|year=2008|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-3186-6|page=51}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 4, 2020 |title=Overview + History {{!}} Ellis Island |url=https://www.statueofliberty.org/ellis-island/overview-history/ |access-date=September 10, 2021 |website=Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island |language=en}}</ref>]] From 1865 through 1917 an unprecedented stream of immigrants arrived in the United States, including 24.4 million from Europe.<ref>U.S. Bureau of the Census, ''Historical Statistics of the United States'' (1976) series C89-C119, pp 105–9</ref> Most came through the [[Port of New York and New Jersey|port of New York City]], and New York City and other large cities on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] became home to large [[History of the Jews in the United States|Jewish]], [[Irish Americans|Irish]], and [[Italian Americans|Italian]] populations, while many [[German Americans|Germans]] and Central Europeans moved to the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]. At the same time, about one million [[French-Canadian Americans|French Canadians]] migrated from [[Quebec]] to [[New England]].<ref>Stephan Thernstrom, ed., ''Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups'' (1980) covers the history of all the main groups</ref> During the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], millions of African Americans [[Jim Crow economy|left the rural South]] for urban areas in the North.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2021 |title=The Great Migration (1910–1970) |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/migrations/great-migration |publisher=National Archives}}</ref> Alaska was [[Alaska Purchase|purchased]] from [[Russian Empire|Russia]] in 1867.<ref>{{cite web |title=Purchase of Alaska, 1867 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/alaska-purchase |access-date=December 23, 2014 |website=Office of the Historian |publisher=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> The [[Compromise of 1877]] effectively ended Reconstruction and [[Redeemers|white supremacists took local control of Southern politics]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Woodward |first=C. Vann |title=Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction |date=1991 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=United Kingdom}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Drew Gilpin Faust |author-link=Drew Gilpin Faust |author2=Eric Foner |author2-link=Eric Foner |author3=Clarence E. Walker |author3-link=Clarence E. Walker |title=White Southern Responses to Black Emancipation |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reconstruction-white-southern-responses-black-emancipation/ |work=[[American Experience]]}}</ref> African Americans endured a period of heightened, overt racism following Reconstruction, a time often called the [[nadir of American race relations]].<ref name="ReferenceA2">{{cite book |last=Trelease |first=Allen W. |title=White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1979 |isbn=0-313-21168-X |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Shearer Davis Bowman |url=https://archive.org/details/masterslordsmid10000bowm |title=Masters and Lords: Mid-19th-Century U.S. Planters and Prussian Junkers |publisher=Oxford UP |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-19-536394-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/masterslordsmid10000bowm/page/221 221] |url-access=registration}}</ref> A series of Supreme Court decisions, including [[Plessy v. Ferguson]], emptied the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of their force, allowing [[Jim Crow laws]] in the South to remain unchecked, [[sundown town]]s in the Midwest, and [[racial segregation in the United States|segregation]] in cities across the country, which would be reinforced by the policy of [[redlining]] later adopted by the federal [[Home Owners' Loan Corporation]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Plessy's Legacy: The Government's Role in the Development and Perpetuation of Segregated Neighborhoods |last=Ware |first=Leland |journal=RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences |date=February 2021 |pages=92–109 |volume=7 |issue=1 |doi=10.7758/rsf.2021.7.1.06 |s2cid=231929202 }}</ref> [[Second Industrial Revolution|An explosion of technological advancement]] accompanied by the exploitation of cheap immigrant labor<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hirschman |first1=Charles |last2=Mogford |first2=Elizabeth |date=1 December 2009 |title=Immigration and the American Industrial Revolution From 1880 to 1920 |journal=Social Science Research |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=897–920 |doi=10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.04.001 |issn=0049-089X |pmc=2760060 |pmid=20160966}}</ref> led to [[Gilded Age|rapid economic development]] during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, allowing the United States to outpace England, France, and Germany combined.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carson |first1=Thomas |last2=Bonk |first2=Mary |title=Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History |date=1999 |publisher=Gale |chapter=Industrial Revolution}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Riggs |first1=Thomas |title=Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History Vol. 3 |date=2015 |publisher=Gale |page=1179 |edition=2}}</ref> This fostered the amassing of power by [[Robber baron (industrialist)|a few prominent industrialists]], largely by their formation of [[Trust (business)|trusts]] and [[Monopoly|monopolies]] to prevent competition.<ref name="Atlantic2">{{Cite journal |last=Dole |first=Charles F. |year=1907 |title=The Ethics of Speculation |journal=[[The Atlantic Monthly]] |volume=C |issue=December 1907 |pages=812–818}}</ref> [[Tycoon]]s led the nation's expansion in the [[History of rail transportation in the United States|railroad]], [[History of the petroleum industry in the United States|petroleum]], and [[History of the steel industry (1850–1970)|steel]] industries. The United States emerged as a pioneer of the [[Automotive industry in the United States|automotive industry]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=The Pit Boss |date=February 26, 2021 |title=The Pit Stop: The American Automotive Industry Is Packed With History |url=https://pitstop.rumbleon.com/american-automotive-history |access-date=December 5, 2021 |website=Rumble On}}</ref> These changes were accompanied by significant increases in [[economic inequality]], [[How the Other Half Lives|slum conditions]], and [[List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States|social unrest]], creating the environment for [[Labor history of the United States|labor unions to begin to flourish]].<ref>Tindall, George Brown and Shi, David E. (2012). ''America: A Narrative History (Brief Ninth Edition) (Vol. 2).'' [[W. W. Norton & Company]]. {{ISBN|978-0-393-91267-8}} p. 589</ref><ref>[[United States#Zinn|Zinn, 2005]], pp. 321–357</ref><ref name="Fraser2">{{cite book |last=Fraser |first=Steve |title=The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-316-18543-1 |page=66}}</ref> This period eventually ended with the advent of the [[Progressive Era]], which was characterized by significant reforms.<ref name="Aldrich2">Aldrich, Mark. ''Safety First: Technology, Labor and Business in the Building of Work Safety, 1870-1939.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-8018-5405-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Progressive Era to New Era, 1900-1929 {{!}} U.S. History Primary Source Timeline {{!}} Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/progressive-era-to-new-era-1900-1929/overview/ |access-date=11 November 2023 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> === Rise as a superpower === {{Main|History of the United States (1917–1945)}} [[File:TrinityDetonation1945GIF.gif|thumb|The [[Trinity (nuclear test)|Trinity nuclear test]] in 1945, part of the [[Manhattan Project]] and the first detonation of a [[nuclear weapon]]. The World Wars permanently ended the country's policy of [[United States non-interventionism|isolationism]] and left it as a world [[superpower]].]] Pro-American elements in Hawaii [[Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii|overthrew]] the [[Hawaiian Kingdom|Hawaiian monarchy]]; the islands were [[Newlands Resolution|annexed]] in 1898. [[Puerto Rico]], [[Guam]], and the [[Philippines]] were ceded by Spain following the [[Spanish–American War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Spanish–American War, 1898 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/spanish-american-war |access-date=December 24, 2014 |website=Office of the Historian |publisher=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> [[American Samoa]] was acquired by the United States in 1900 after the [[Second Samoan Civil War]].<ref>Ryden, George Herbert. ''The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa''. New York: Octagon Books, 1975.</ref> The [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]] were purchased from [[Denmark]] in 1917.<ref>{{cite web |title=Virgin Islands History |url=https://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/history/ |access-date=January 5, 2018 |publisher=Vinow.com}}</ref> The United States entered [[World War I]] alongside the [[Allies of World War I]], helping to turn the tide against the [[Central Powers]].<ref>McDuffie, Jerome; Piggrem, Gary Wayne; Woodworth, Steven E. (2005). ''U.S. History Super Review''. Piscataway, NJ: Research & Education Association. p. 418. {{ISBN|978-0-7386-0070-3}}.</ref> In 1920, [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|a constitutional amendment]] granted nationwide [[Women's suffrage in the United States|women's suffrage]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Larson |first1=Elizabeth C. |last2=Meltvedt |first2=Kristi R. |year=2021 |title=Women's suffrage: fact sheet |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R45805 |journal=CRS Reports (Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service) |series=Report / Congressional Research Service |access-date=August 9, 2023}}</ref> During the 1920s and 30s, radio for [[mass communication]] and the invention of early television transformed communications nationwide.{{sfn|Winchester|2013|pp=410–411}} The [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]] triggered the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], which President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] responded to with [[New Deal]] social and economic policies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Axinn |first1=June |title=Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need |last2=Stern |first2=Mark J. |publisher=Allyn & Bacon |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-205-52215-6 |edition=7th |location=Boston}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=James Noble Gregory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qNdtGwnXYrIC |title=American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-19-507136-8 |access-date=October 25, 2015}} {{cite web |author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. --> |year=2013 |title=Mass Exodus From the Plains |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/dustbowl-mass-exodus-plains/ |access-date=October 5, 2014 |website=American Experience |publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation}} {{cite web |last1=Fanslow |first1=Robin A. |date=April 6, 1997 |title=The Migrant Experience |url=https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html |access-date=October 5, 2014 |website=American Folklore Center |publisher=Library of Congress}} {{cite book |last=Stein |first=Walter J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGuGAAAAIAAJ |title=California and the Dust Bowl Migration |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-8371-6267-6 |access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> [[United States non-interventionism before entering World War II|At first neutral]] during [[World War II]], the U.S. began [[Lend-Lease|supplying war materiel]] to the [[Allies of World War II]] in March 1941 and entered the war in December after the [[Empire of Japan]]'s attack on [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor]].<ref>The official WRA record from 1946 states that it was 120,000 people. See {{cite book |author=[[War Relocation Authority]] |url=https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-282-5/ |title=The Evacuated People: A Quantitative Study |year=1946 |page=8}} This number does not include people held in other camps such as those run by the DoJ or U.S. Army. Other sources may give numbers slightly more or less than 120,000.</ref><ref name="Pearl Harbor2">{{cite web |last1=Yamasaki |first1=Mitch |title=Pearl Harbor and America's Entry into World War II: A Documentary History |url=https://www.hawaiiinternment.org/static/ush_yamasaki_documentary_history.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213122046/https://www.hawaiiinternment.org/static/ush_yamasaki_documentary_history.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2015 |publisher=World War II Internment in Hawaii}}</ref> The U.S. [[Manhattan Project|developed the first nuclear weapons]] and [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|used them against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in August 1945, ending the war.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Why did Japan surrender in World War II? |language=en |newspaper=The Japan Times |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/08/06/commentary/japan-surrender-world-war-ii/ |access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>Pacific War Research Society (2006). ''Japan's Longest Day''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-4-7700-2887-7}}.</ref> The United States was one of the "[[Four Policemen]]" who met to plan the postwar world, alongside the United Kingdom, [[Soviet Union]], and [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]].{{sfn|Hoopes|Brinkley|1997|p=100}}{{sfn|Gaddis|1972|p=25}} The U.S. emerged relatively unscathed from the war, with even greater economic and international political influence.<ref>Kennedy, Paul (1989). ''The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers''. New York: Vintage. p. 358. {{ISBN|978-0-679-72019-5}}</ref> === Cold War === {{Main|Cold War}} {{Further|History of the United States (1945–1964)|History of the United States (1964–1980)|History of the United States (1980–1991)}} [[File:Reagan and Gorbachev signing.jpg|thumb|[[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and [[Ronald Reagan]] sign the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]] at the [[White House]] in 1987.]] After World War II, the United States entered the [[Cold War]], where geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the two countries to dominate world affairs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sempa |first=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Px4uDwAAQBAJ |title=Geopolitics: From the Cold War to the 21st Century |date=12 July 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-51768-3}}</ref> The U.S. engaged in [[United States involvement in regime change|regime change]] against governments perceived to be aligned with the Soviet Union, and competed in the [[Space Race]], culminating in the [[Apollo 11|first crewed Moon landing]] in 1969.<ref name="Blakemore-20192">{{cite web |last=Blakemore |first=Erin |date=March 22, 2019 |title=What was the Cold War? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/cold-war/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401192349/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/cold-war/ |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |access-date=August 28, 2020 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref><ref>Mark Kramer, "The Soviet Bloc and the Cold War in Europe," in {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EyNcCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT174 |title=A Companion to Europe Since 1945 |publisher=Wiley |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-118-89024-0 |editor-last=Larresm |editor-first=Klaus |page=79}}</ref><ref>[[United States#Blakeley|Blakeley, 2009]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=rft8AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 p. 92]</ref><ref name="Proxy2">{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/liftoff00coll |title=Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventure in Space |publisher=Grove Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8021-1011-4 |location=New York |author-link=Michael Collins (astronaut) |url-access=registration}}</ref> Domestically, [[Post–World War II economic expansion|the U.S. experienced economic growth]], [[Urbanization in the United States|urbanization]], and [[Mid-20th century baby boom|population growth following World War II]].{{sfn|Winchester|2013|pp=305–308}} The [[civil rights movement]] emerged, with [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] becoming a prominent leader in the early 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Civil Rights Movement |url=https://www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/4b.html |access-date=January 5, 2019 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> The [[Great Society]] plan of President [[Lyndon Johnson]]'s administration resulted in groundbreaking and broad-reaching laws, policies and a constitutional amendment to counteract some of the worst effects of lingering [[institutional racism]].<ref>{{cite book|first= Alan|last=Brinkley|chapter= Great Society |title=The Reader's Companion to American History|date=January 24, 1991 |editor1=Eric Foner|editor2=John Arthur Garraty|isbn=0-395-51372-3|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books|page=472}}</ref> The [[Counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture movement]] in the U.S. brought significant social changes, including the liberalization of attitudes toward [[recreational drug use]] and [[Sexual revolution|sexuality]]. It also encouraged [[Draft evasion in the Vietnam War|open defiance of the military draft]] (leading to the [[Conscription#By country|end of conscription]] in 1973) and [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|wide opposition]] to [[United States in the Vietnam War|U.S. intervention in Vietnam]] (with the U.S. totally withdrawing in 1975).<ref>{{cite web |author=Svetlana Ter-Grigoryan |date=February 12, 2022 |title=The Sexual Revolution Origins and Impact |url=https://study.com/learn/lesson/sexual-liberation-movement-origin-timeline-impact-revolution.html |access-date=April 27, 2023 |website=study.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Levy |first=Daniel |date=January 19, 2018 |title=Behind the Protests Against the Vietnam War in 1968 |url=https://time.com/5106608/protest-1968/?amp=true |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=May 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2022 |title=Playboy: American Magazine |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Playboy |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |quote=...the so-called sexual revolution in the United States in the 1960s, marked by greatly more permissive attitudes toward sexual interest and activity than had been prevalent in earlier generations.}}</ref> The societal shift in the roles of women partly resulted in large increases in female labor participation in the 1970s, and by 1985 the majority of women aged 16 and older were employed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Women in the Labor Force: A Databook|url=https://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2012.pdf|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|access-date=March 21, 2014|page=11|year=2013}}</ref> The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the [[Revolutions of 1989|collapse of the Warsaw Pact]] and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], which marked the end of the Cold War and solidified the U.S. as the world's sole superpower.<ref name="Gaidar2">{{cite book |last=Gaĭdar |first=E.T. |url={{GBUrl|bDSfnxYjVwAC|pg=PA102}} |title=Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia |publisher=[[Brookings Institution#Publications|Brookings Institution Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8157-3114-6 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=190–205}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Howell |first=Buddy Wayne |title=The Rhetoric of Presidential Summit Diplomacy: Ronald Reagan and the U.S.-Soviet Summits, 1985–1988 |publisher=Texas A&M University |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-549-41658-6 |page=352}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kissinger |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IZboamhb5EC&pg=PA731 |title=Diplomacy |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4391-2631-8 |pages=781–784 |author-link=Henry Kissinger |access-date=October 25, 2015}} {{cite book |last=Mann |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgZyXNIrvB4C&pg=PT12 |title=The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War |publisher=Penguin |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4406-8639-9 |page=432}}</ref><ref>[[United States#Hayes|Hayes, 2009]]</ref> === Contemporary === {{Main|History of the United States (1991–2008)|History of the United States (2008–present)}} [[File:Explosion_following_the_plane_impact_into_the_South_Tower_(WTC_2)_-_B6019~11.jpg|thumb|The [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|Twin Towers]] in New York City during the [[September 11 attacks]] of 2001]] The 1990s saw the [[1990s United States boom|longest recorded economic expansion in American history]], [[Crime in the United States|a dramatic decline in crime]], and [[Digital Revolution|advances in technology]], with the [[World Wide Web]], the evolution of the [[Pentium (original)|Pentium microprocessor]] in accordance with [[Moore's law]], rechargeable [[Lithium-ion battery|lithium-ion batteries]], the first [[gene therapy]] trial, and [[cloning]] all emerging and being improved upon throughout the decade. The [[Human Genome Project]] was formally launched in 1990, while [[Nasdaq]] became the first stock market in the United States to trade online in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |last=((CFI Team)) |title=NASDAQ |url=https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/career-map/sell-side/capital-markets/nasdaq/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211163114/https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/career-map/sell-side/capital-markets/nasdaq/ |archive-date=2023-12-11 |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=Corporate Finance Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1991, [[Coalition of the Gulf War|an American-led international coalition of states]] expelled an [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraqi]] invasion force from [[Kuwait]] in the [[Gulf War]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Holsti|first=Ole R.|author-link=Ole R. Holsti|title=American Public Opinion on the Iraq War|page=20|chapter=The United States and Iraq before the Iraq War|date=2011-11-07|publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]|isbn=978-0-472-03480-2}}</ref> The [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]] by the [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamist]] militant organization [[al-Qaeda]] led to the [[war on terror]] and subsequent military interventions [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|in Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq War|Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Walsh, Kenneth T. |date=December 9, 2008 |title=The 'War on Terror' Is Critical to President George W. Bush's Legacy |newspaper=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2008/12/09/the-war-on-terror-is-critical-to-president-george-w-bushs-legacy |access-date=March 6, 2013}} {{cite book |last=Atkins |first=Stephen E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDDIgWRN_HQC&pg=PA210 |title=The 9/11 Encyclopedia: Second Edition |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-59884-921-9 |page=872 |access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |date=February 15, 2008 |title=Overview: The Iraq War |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/ref/timestopics/topics_iraq.html |access-date=March 7, 2013}} {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=James Turner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SF7U27JsLC4C&q=iraq+invasion+removes+hussein |title=The War to Oust Saddam Hussein: Just War and the New Face of Conflict |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7425-4956-2 |page=159 |access-date=October 25, 2015}} {{cite news |author=Durando, Jessica |author2=Green, Shannon Rae |date=December 21, 2011 |title=Timeline: Key moments in the Iraq War |newspaper=USA Today |agency=Associated Press |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/story/2011-12-21/iraq-war-timeline/52147680/1 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904084312/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/story/2011-12-21/iraq-war-timeline/52147680/1 |archive-date=September 4, 2020}}</ref> The [[Cultural influence of the September 11 attacks|cultural impact of the attacks]] was profound and long-lasting. The [[2000s United States housing bubble|U.S. housing bubble]] culminated in 2007 with the [[Great Recession]], the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hilsenrath |first1=Jon |last2=Ng |first2=Serena |last3=Paletta |first3=Damian |date=September 18, 2008 |title=Worst Crisis Since '30s, With No End Yet in Sight |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122169431617549947 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225040616/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122169431617549947 |archive-date=December 25, 2014 |issn=1042-9840 |oclc=781541372}}</ref> Coming to a head in the 2010s, [[Political polarization in the United States|political polarization]] increased as sociopolitical debates on cultural issues dominated politics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hamid |first=Shadi |date=2022-01-08 |title=The Forever Culture War |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/republicans-democrats-forever-culture-war/621184/ |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=[[The Atlantic]] |language=en}}</ref> This polarization was capitalized upon in the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|January 2021 Capitol attack]],<ref name="Initial Encyclopedia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Duignan |first=Brian |date=2021-08-04 |title=January 6 U.S. Capitol attack |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack |url-status=live |access-date=2021-09-22 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |quote=Because its object was to prevent a legitimate president-elect from assuming office, the attack was widely regarded as an insurrection or attempted coup d'état.|language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117232629/https://www.britannica.com/event/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack |archive-date=2023-01-17}}</ref> when a mob of protesters entered the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] and attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rutenberg |first1=Jim |last2=Becker |first2=Jo |last3=Lipton |first3=Eric |last4=Haberman |first4=Maggie |last5=Martin |first5=Jonathan |last6=Rosenberg |first6=Matthew |last7=Schmidt |first7=Michael S. |title=77 Days: Trump's Campaign to Subvert the Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/us/trump-election-lie.html |work=The New York Times |date=31 January 2021 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20220618170015/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/us/trump-election-lie.html |archivedate=2022-06-18 |url-status=live}}</ref> == Geography == {{Main|Geography of the United States|Borders of the United States}} [[File:Uspaintedrelief.png|thumb|A [[topographic map]] of the United States]] The United States is the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by area|third-largest country]] by total area behind Russia and Canada.{{efn|name=largestcountry}}<ref name="WF">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/|title=United States|website=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|date=January 3, 2018|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name="CIA Factbook Area">{{cite web|title=Area|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html|website=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=January 15, 2015|archive-date=January 31, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131115000/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html|url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Contiguous United States|48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia]] occupy a combined area of {{convert|3,119,885|sqmi|km2|abbr=}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/279.html#as|work=The World Factbook|publisher=cia.gov|title=Field Listing: Area|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707180005/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/279.html#as|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="urlState Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates—Geography—U.S. Census Bureau">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html|title=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates—Geography—U.S. Census Bureau|website=State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce|access-date=September 11, 2017}}</ref> The [[Atlantic coastal plain|coastal plain]] of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] seaboard gives way to inland forests and rolling hills in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] plateau region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Geographic Regions of Georgia|url=https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/geography/article/geographic-regions-of-georgia|website=Georgia Info|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The [[Appalachian Mountains]] and the [[Adirondack Mountains|Adirondack]] massif separate the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] from the [[Great Lakes]] and the grasslands of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].<ref name="NAU">{{cite web|last=Lew|first=Alan|title=PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE US|url=https://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409112252/https://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch2.html|archive-date=April 9, 2016|website=GSP 220—Geography of the United States|publisher=North Arizona University|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The [[Mississippi River System]], the world's [[List of rivers by length|fourth-longest river system]], runs predominantly north–south through the heart of the country. The flat and fertile [[prairie]] of the [[Great Plains]] stretches to the west, interrupted by [[U.S. Interior Highlands|a highland region]] in the southeast.<ref name="NAU" /> [[File:Grand Canyon National Park — Buddha Temple.jpg|thumb|The [[Grand Canyon]] in [[Arizona]]]] The [[Rocky Mountains]], west of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, peaking at over {{convert|14000|ft}} in [[Colorado]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Harms|first=Nicole|title=Facts About the Rocky Mountain Range|url=https://traveltips.usatoday.com/rocky-mountain-range-11967.html|work=USA Today|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> Farther west are the rocky [[Great Basin]] and [[Chihuahuan Desert|Chihuahua]], [[Sonoran Desert|Sonoran]], and [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]] deserts.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tinkham|first=Ernest R.|title=Biological, Taxonomic and Faunistic Studies on the Shield-Back Katydids of the North American Deserts|jstor=2421073|doi=10.2307/2421073|journal=[[The American Midland Naturalist]]|volume=31|number=2|date=March 1944|pages=257–328|publisher=The [[University of Notre Dame]]}}</ref> In the northwest corner of [[Arizona]], carved by the [[Colorado River]] over millions of years, is the [[Grand Canyon]], a steep-sided canyon and popular tourist destination known for its overwhelming visual size and intricate, colorful landscape. The [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] and [[Cascade Range|Cascade]] mountain ranges run close to the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific coast]]. The [[Extreme points of the United States|lowest and highest points]] in the contiguous United States are in the state of California,<ref>{{cite web|title=Mount Whitney, California|url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2829|publisher=Peakbagger|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> about {{convert|84|mi|km}} apart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Find Distance and Azimuths Between 2 Sets of Coordinates (Badwater 36-15-01-N, 116-49-33-W and Mount Whitney 36-34-43-N, 118-17-31-W)|url=https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/distance?dlat=36&mlat=15&slat=01&ns=1&dlon=116&mlon=49&slon=33&ew=1&dlat2=36&mlat2=34&slat2=43&sn=1&dlon2=118&mlon2=17&slon2=31&we=1&iselec=1|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> At an elevation of {{convert|20310|ft|1}}, Alaska's [[Denali]] is the highest peak in the country and continent.<ref>{{cite web|last=Poppick|first=Laura|title=US Tallest Mountain's Surprising Location Explained|date=August 28, 2013|url=https://www.livescience.com/39245-us-tallest-mountain-location-explained.html|publisher=LiveScience|access-date=May 2, 2015}}</ref> Active [[volcano]]es are common throughout Alaska's [[Alexander Archipelago|Alexander]] and [[Aleutian Islands]], and Hawaii consists of volcanic islands. The [[supervolcano]] underlying [[Yellowstone National Park]] in the [[Rockies]] is the continent's largest volcanic feature.<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Hanlon|first=Larry|title=America's Explosive Park|url=https://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html|date=March 14, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050314034001/https://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html|archive-date=March 14, 2005|publisher=Discovery Channel|access-date=April 5, 2016}}</ref> In 2021, the United States had 8% of global permanent meadows and pastures and 10% of cropland.<ref name=":14">{{Cite book |title=World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |access-date=2023-12-13 | date=2023 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cc8166en| isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 }}</ref> === Climate === {{Main|Climate of the United States|Climate change in the United States}} [[File:Köppen Climate Types US 50.png|thumb|The [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of the United States]] With its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. East of the [[100th meridian west|100th meridian]], the climate ranges from [[humid continental climate|humid continental]] in the north to [[humid subtropical climate|humid subtropical]] in the south.<ref>{{cite web|last=Boyden|first=Jennifer|title=Climate Regions of the United States|url=https://traveltips.usatoday.com/climate-regions-united-states-21570.html|work=USA Today|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> The western Great Plains are [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]]. Many mountainous areas of the American West have an [[alpine climate]]. The climate is [[Desert climate|arid]] in the Southwest, [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] in [[coastal California]], and [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] in coastal [[Oregon]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and southern [[Alaska]]. Most of Alaska is [[Subarctic climate|subarctic]] or [[Polar climate|polar]]. [[Hawaii]], the [[South Florida|southern tip of Florida]] and U.S. territories in the [[Caribbean]] and [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] are [[Tropical climate|tropical]].<ref>{{cite web|title=World Map of Köppen–Geiger Climate Classification|url=https://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf|access-date=August 19, 2015|archive-date=January 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126115149/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> States bordering the [[Gulf of Mexico]] are prone to [[Tropical cyclone|hurricanes]], and most of the world's [[Tornadoes in the United States|tornadoes]] occur in the country, mainly in [[Tornado Alley]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Perkins, Sid|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701131631/https://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/bob9.asp|archive-date=July 1, 2007|title=Tornado Alley, USA|access-date=September 20, 2006|date=May 11, 2002|work=Science News}}</ref> Overall, the United States receives more high-impact extreme weather incidents than any other country.<ref>{{cite web|title=USA has the world's most extreme weather|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/05/16/extreme-weather-north-america/2162501/|last=Rice|first=Doyle|website=USA Today|language=en|access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref> Extreme weather became more frequent in the U.S. in the 21st century, with three times the number of reported [[heat waves]] as in the 1960s. In the [[Southwestern United States|American Southwest]], droughts became more persistent and more severe.<ref>{{Cite web|last=US EPA|first=OAR|date=June 27, 2016|title=Climate Change Indicators: Weather and Climate|url=https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate|access-date=June 19, 2022|website=Epa.gov|language=en}}</ref> === Biodiversity and conservation === {{Main|Fauna of the United States|Flora of the United States}} {{Anchor|Wildlife and conservation}} [[File:Bald eagle about to fly in Alaska (2016).jpg|alt=A bald eagle|thumb|The [[bald eagle]], the [[national bird of the United States]] since 1782<ref name="McDougall2004">{{cite book|first=Len|last=McDougall|title=The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9XOc2_u7z6cC&pg=PA325|year=2004|publisher=Lyons Press|isbn=978-1-59228-070-4|page=325}}</ref>]] The U.S. is one of 17 [[megadiverse countries]] containing large numbers of [[List of endangered animals of North America|endemic species]]: about 17,000 species of [[vascular plant]]s occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of [[flowering plant]]s are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland.<ref>{{cite web|author=Morin, Nancy|url=https://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724222726/https://www.fungaljungal.org/papers/National_Biological_Service.pdf|title=Vascular Plants of the United States|website=Plants|publisher=National Biological Service|access-date=October 27, 2008|archive-date=July 24, 2013}}</ref> The United States is home to 428 [[mammal]] species, 784 birds, 311 reptiles, 295 [[amphibian]]s,<ref name="Current Results # of native species in the US">{{cite web|last1=Osborn|first1=Liz|title=Number of Native Species in United States|url=https://www.currentresults.com/Environment-Facts/Plants-Animals/number-of-native-species-in-united-states.php|publisher=Current Results Nexus|access-date=January 15, 2015}}</ref> and 91,000 insect species.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/bugnos.htm|title=Numbers of Insects (Species and Individuals)|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref> There are 63 [[List of national parks of the United States|national parks]], and [[Federal lands|hundreds of other federally managed]] parks, forests, and [[National Wilderness Preservation System|wilderness areas]], managed by the [[National Park Service]] and other agencies.<ref>{{cite web|title= National Park FAQ|url=https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/national-park-system.htm/|website=nps|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=May 8, 2015}}</ref> About 28% of the country's land is publicly owned and federally managed,<ref name="NYTimes Federal Land">{{cite news|last1=Lipton|first1=Eric|last2=Krauss|first2=Clifford|title=Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/romney-would-give-reins-to-states-on-drilling-on-federal-lands.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0|access-date=January 18, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> primarily in the [[Western United States|western states]].<ref name="AKLeg CRS Federal Land">{{Cite report|url=https://www.akleg.gov/basis/get_documents.asp?session=31&docid=47224|title=Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=March 3, 2017|access-date=June 18, 2020|last1=Vincent|first1=Carol H.|last2=Hanson|first2=Laura A.|last3=Argueta|first3=Carla N.|page=2}}</ref> Most of this land is [[Protected areas of the United States|protected]], though some is leased for commercial use, and less than one percent is used for military purposes.<ref name="Federal Land Ownership">{{cite web|last1=Gorte|first1=Ross W.|last2=Vincent|first2=Carol Hardy.|last3=Hanson|first3=Laura A.|last4=Marc R.|first4=Rosenblum|title=Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf|website=fas.org|publisher=Congressional Research Service|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Fed Land Uses">{{cite web|title=Chapter 6: Federal Programs to Promote Resource Use, Extraction, and Development|url=https://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm|website=doi.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318005744/https://www.doi.gov/pmb/oepc/wetlands2/v2ch6.cfm|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|access-date=January 19, 2015|archive-date=March 18, 2015}}</ref> [[Environmental issues in the United States]] include debates on [[non-renewable resource]]s and [[Nuclear power debate|nuclear energy]], [[Pollution prevention in the US|air and water pollution]], [[biodiversity]], logging and [[Deforestation in the United States|deforestation]],<ref>{{cite web|author=The National Atlas of the United States of America|url=https://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html|title=Forest Resources of the United States|publisher=Nationalatlas.gov|date=January 14, 2013|access-date=January 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507195541/https://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_forest.html|archive-date=May 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr587.pdf|title=Land Use Changes Involving Forestry in the United States: 1952 to 1997, With Projections to 2050|year=2003|access-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref> and [[Climate change in the United States|climate change]].<ref>[[#Daynes|Daynes & Sussman, 2010]], pp. 3, 72, 74–76, 78</ref><ref>Hays, Samuel P. (2000). ''A History of Environmental Politics since 1945''.</ref> The [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) is the federal agency charged with [[Environmental policy of the United States|addressing most environmental-related issues]].<ref name="Collin2006">{{cite book|last=Collin|first=Robert W.|title=The Environmental Protection Agency: Cleaning Up America's Act|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVPoqXeTYTwC&pg=PA1|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33341-5|page=1|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> The [[National Wilderness Preservation System|idea of wilderness]] has shaped the management of public lands since 1964, with the [[Wilderness Act]].<ref>Turner, James Morton (2012). ''The Promise of Wilderness'', pp. 29–32</ref> The [[Endangered Species Act of 1973]] provides a way to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. The [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] implements and enforces the Act.<ref name="Office">{{cite book|title=Endangered species Fish and Wildlife Service|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a8BEuUPJb58C&pg=PA1|publisher=General Accounting Office, Diane Publishing|isbn=978-1-4289-3997-4|pages=1–3, 42|access-date=October 25, 2015|year=2003 }}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, the U.S. ranked 43rd among 180 countries in the [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2022/component/epi|title=Environmental Performance Index | Environmental Performance Index|website=epi.yale.edu}}</ref> The country joined the [[Paris Agreement]] on climate change in 2016 and has many other environmental commitments.<ref>{{cite web|title=United States of America|url=https://climateaction.unfccc.int/views/country.html?country=US|website=Global Climate Action – NAZCA|publisher=United Nations|access-date=November 18, 2020}}</ref> == Government and politics == {{Main|Constitution of the United States|Politics of the United States}} {{Further|Elections in the United States|Political ideologies in the United States|Americanism (ideology)|American civil religion}} [[File:US Capitol west side.JPG|thumb|The [[United States Capitol|Capitol]] and its two legislative chambers, the [[United States Senate|Senate]] (left) and the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] (right)]] [[File:White House lawn (long tightly cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[White House]], the residence and workplace of the U.S. president and the offices of [[Executive Office of the President of the United States|the presidential staff]]]] [[File:Panorama of United States Supreme Court Building at Dusk.jpg|thumb|The [[United States Supreme Court Building|Supreme Court Building]], which houses the nation's highest court]] The United States is a [[federal republic]] of 50 states, with its capital in [[Washington, D.C.|a federal district]], asserting sovereignty over [[Territories of the United States|five unincorporated territories]] and several uninhabited [[United States Minor Outlying Islands|island possessions]] (some of which are disputed).<ref>{{cite web|title=Common Core Document of the United States of America|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/179780.htm|date=December 30, 2011|publisher=[[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]]|access-date=July 10, 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Onuf|2010|p=xvii}} It is the world's oldest surviving federation, and, according to the [[World Economic Forum]], the oldest democracy as well.<ref>Desjardins, Jeff (August 8, 2019). [https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/countries-are-the-worlds-oldest-democracies/ "Mapped: The world's oldest democracies"]. [[World Economic Forum]].</ref> It is a liberal [[representative democracy]] "in which [[Tyranny of the majority|majority rule is tempered]] by [[Constitutional right|minority rights]] protected by [[Law of the United States|law]]."<ref name="Scheb">Scheb, John M.; Scheb, John M. II (2002). ''An Introduction to the American Legal System''. Florence, KY: Delmar, p. 6. {{ISBN|978-0-7668-2759-2}}.</ref> The [[Constitution of the United States]] serves as the country's [[Supremacy Clause|supreme legal document]], also establishing the structure and responsibilities of the national federal government and its relationship with the individual states.<ref>[[#Feldstein|Feldstein, Fabozzi, 2011]], p. 9</ref> === National government === {{Main|Federal government of the United States}} Composed of three branches, all headquartered in Washington, D.C., the [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] is the national government of the United States. It is regulated by a strong system of [[checks and balances]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Killian, Johnny H. Ed|title=Constitution of the United States |url=https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm |access-date=February 11, 2012 |publisher=The Office of the Secretary of the Senate}}</ref> * The [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]], a [[bicameral legislature]], made up of the [[United States Senate|Senate]] and the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], makes [[federal law]], [[declaration of war|declares war]], approves treaties, has the [[power of the purse]],<ref>{{cite web|title=The Legislative Branch|publisher=United States Diplomatic Mission to Germany|url=https://usa.usembassy.de/government-legislative.htm|access-date=August 20, 2012}}</ref> and has [[Impeachment in the United States|the power of impeachment]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Process for impeachment|publisher=ThinkQuest|url=https://library.thinkquest.org/25673/process.htm|access-date=August 20, 2012|archive-date=April 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408102119/https://library.thinkquest.org/25673/process.htm|url-status=dead }}</ref> The Senate has 100 members (2 from each state), elected for a six-year term. The House of Representatives has 435 members from single member [[List of United States congressional districts|congressional districts]] allocated to each state on the basis of population, elected for a two-year term.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Senate and the House of Representatives: lesson overview (article) |url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/us-gov-interactions-among-branches/us-gov-congress-the-senate-and-the-house-of-representatives/a/lesson-summary-the-senate-and-the-house-of-representatives |website=Khan Academy |language=en}}</ref> * The U.S. president is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the military, can veto [[bill (law)|legislative bills]] before they become law (subject to congressional override), and appoints the [[Cabinet of the United States|members of the Cabinet]] (subject to Senate approval) and other officials, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies through their respective [[List of federal agencies in the United States|agencies]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Executive Branch|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-executive-branch/|website=The White House|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref> The president and the vice president run and are elected together in a presidential election. Unlike any others in American politics, it is an [[indirect election]], with the winner being determined by votes cast by electors of the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]]. The President and Vice President serve a four-year term and may be elected to the office [[Term limits in the United States|no more than twice]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Interpretation: Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2 and 3 {{!}} Constitution Center |url=https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-ii/clauses/350 |website=National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org |language=en}}</ref> * The [[Federal judiciary of the United States|U.S. federal judiciary]], whose judges are all appointed for life by the President with Senate approval, consists primarily of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]], the [[United States courts of appeals|U.S. courts of appeals]], and the [[United States district court|U.S. district courts]]. The U.S. Supreme Court interprets laws and overturn those they find [[constitutionality|unconstitutional]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Kermit L.|last1=Hall|first2=Kevin T.|last2=McGuire|title=Institutions of American Democracy: The Judicial Branch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6rWCaMAdUzgC|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-988374-5}}<br />{{cite book|author=U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services|title=Learn about the United States: Quick Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8X1CzvBXHksC&pg=PA4|date=2013|publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-16-091708-0|page=4}}<br />{{cite book|first=Bryon|last=Giddens-White|title=The Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbZw3bJsWtUC|year=2005|publisher=Heinemann Library|isbn=978-1-4034-6608-2}}<br />{{cite book|first=Charles L.|last=Zelden|title=The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics|url=https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld|url-access=registration|year=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-702-9|access-date=October 25, 2015}}<br />{{cite web|url=https://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx|title=Federal Courts|author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. -->|publisher=United States Courts|access-date=October 19, 2014}}</ref> The Supreme Court is led by the [[Chief Justice of the United States]]. It has nine members who serve for life. The members are appointed by the sitting president when a vacancy becomes available.<ref>{{cite news|title=Beyond politics: Why Supreme Court justices are appointed for life|first=Roger|last=Cossack|url=https://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/07/columns/cossack.scotus.07.12/|publisher=CNN|date=July 13, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712085825/https://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/07/columns/cossack.scotus.07.12|archive-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> The three-branch system is known as the [[presidential system]], in contrast to the [[parliamentary system]], where the executive is part of the legislative body. Many countries around the world copied this aspect of the 1789 [[Constitution of the United States]], especially in the Americas.<ref name="Sundquist">{{Cite book |last=Sundquist |first=James L. |title=Designs for Democratic Stability: Studies in Viable Constitutionalism |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1997 |isbn=0765600528 |editor-last=Baaklini |editor-first=Abdo I. |pages=53–72 |language=en |chapter=The U.S. Presidential System as a Model for the World |editor-last2=Desfosses |editor-first2=Helen}}</ref> === Political parties === {{main|Political parties in the United States|Political party strength in U.S. states|List of political parties in the United States}} [[File:US state Legislature and Governor Control.svg|thumb|U.S. [[State governments of the United States|state governments]] (governor and legislature) by party control: {{legend|#33f|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] control}} {{legend|#f33|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] control}} {{legend|#829|Split control}}]] The Constitution is silent on political parties. However, they developed independently in the 18th century with the [[Federalist Party|Federalist]] and [[Anti-Federalist Party|Anti-Federalist]] parties.<ref name="Hofstadter-1969-iv">{{cite book |last1=Hofstadter |first1=Richard |title=The Idea of a Party System : The Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the United States, 1780-1840 |date=1969 |publisher=University of California Press |page=iv |isbn=9780520013896 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wG5rCKm8SmAC&q=%E2%80%9Cdid+not+believe+in+parties+as+such,+scorned+those+that+they+were+conscious+of+as+historical+models%22 |access-date=5 October 2022}}</ref> Since then, the United States has operated as a de facto [[two-party system]], though the parties in that system have been different at different times. The two main national parties are presently the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. The former is perceived as [[Liberalism in the United States|relatively liberal]] in its political platform while the latter is perceived as [[Conservatism in the United States|relatively conservative]].<ref>[[Matthew Levendusky]], ''The Partisan Sort: How Liberals Became Democrats and Conservatives Became Republicans'' (U Chicago Press, 2009)</ref> Each has a [[United States presidential primary|primary system]] to nominate a [[Ticket (election)|presidential ticket]], and each runs candidates for other offices in every state in the Union. [[Third party (U.S. politics)|Other smaller and less influential parties exist]] but do not have the national scope and breadth of the two main parties. === Subdivisions === {{Main|State governments of the United States|Local government in the United States|U.S. state}} {{Further|List of states and territories of the United States|Indian reservation|Territories of the United States|Territorial evolution of the United States}} In [[Federalism in the United States|the American federal system]], sovereign powers are shared between two levels of elected government: national and state. People in the states are also represented by local elected governments, which are administrative divisions of the states.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Levy |first1=Robert A. |title=Rights, Powers, Dual Sovereignty, and Federalism |url=https://www.cato.org/policy-report/september/october-2011/rights-powers-dual-sovereignty-federalism# |website=Cato Institute |access-date=13 January 2024 |date=October 2011}}</ref> States are subdivided into [[County (United States)|counties or county equivalents]], and [[Local government in the United States|further divided into municipalities]]. The District of Columbia is a [[federal district]] that contains the capital of the United States, the [[Washington, D.C.|city of Washington]].<ref>{{usc|8|1101}}(a)(36) and {{usc|8|1101}}(a)(38) U.S. Federal Code, Immigration and Nationality Act. {{USC|8|1101a}}</ref> The territories and the District of Columbia are administrative divisions of the federal government.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Feldstein |first=Martin |date=March 2017 |title=Why is Growth Better in the United States Than in Other Industrial Countries? |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w23221 |journal=[[National Bureau of Economic Research]] |location=Cambridge, MA|doi=10.3386/w23221 }}</ref> [[List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States|Federally recognized tribes]] govern 326<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a federal Indian reservation? |url=https://www.bia.gov/faqs/what-federal-indian-reservation#:~:text=There%20are%20approximately%20326%20Indian,%2C%20communities%2C%20etc.). |access-date=August 26, 2023 |website=bia.gov | date=August 19, 2017 |publisher=[[Bureau of Indian Affairs]]}}</ref> [[List of Indian reservations in the United States|Indian reservations]]. {{USA image map}} === Foreign relations === {{Main|Foreign relations of the United States|Foreign policy of the United States}} [[File:67º Período de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas (8020913157).jpg|thumb|The [[Headquarters of the United Nations|United Nations headquarters]] has been situated along the [[East River]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]] since 1952; in 1945, the United States was a founding member of the UN.|alt=see caption]] The United States has an established structure of foreign relations, and it has the world's second-largest diplomatic corps {{As of|2024|lc=y}}. It is a [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent member]] of the [[United Nations Security Council]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/current-members|title=Current Members|work=[[United Nations Security Council]]|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> and home to the [[Headquarters of the United Nations|United Nations headquarters]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=United Nations Headquarters Agreement|journal=The American Journal of International Law |volume=42|number=2|date=April 1948|pages=445–447|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.2307/2193692|jstor=2193692|s2cid=246008694 }}</ref> The United States is a member of the [[G7]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/where-g7-headed|title=Where is the G7 Headed?|work=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|location=New York City|date=June 28, 2022}}</ref> [[G20]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-and-g20-building-a-more-peaceful-stable-and-prosperous-world-together/|title=The United States and G20: Building a More Peaceful, Stable, and Prosperous World Together|date=July 6, 2022|work=[[United States Department of State]]|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> and [[OECD]] intergovernmental organizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/about/members-and-partners/|title=Our global reach|work=[[OECD]]|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> Almost all countries have [[List of diplomatic missions in the United States|embassies]] and many have [[consul (representative)|consulates]] (official representatives) in the country. Likewise, nearly all countries host formal [[diplomatic mission]]s with the United States, except [[Iran–United States relations|Iran]],<ref>{{cite report |last1=Fialho |first1=Livia Pontes |last2=Wallin |first2=Matthew |title=Reaching for an Audience: U.S. Public Diplomacy Towards Iran |date=August 1, 2013 |publisher=American Security Project |jstor=resrep06070}}</ref> [[North Korea–United States relations|North Korea]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42351336|title=Which are the countries still talking to North Korea?|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|location=London|date=December 19, 2017|access-date=July 15, 2022|last1=Oliver|first1=Alex|last2=Graham|first2=Euan}}</ref> and [[Foreign relations of Bhutan#Other countries|Bhutan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/12/the-case-for-a-stronger-bhutanese-american-relationship/|title=The Case for Stronger Bhutanese-American Ties|newspaper=[[The Diplomat]]|date=December 22, 2014|last=Ferraro|first=Matthew F.|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> Though [[Taiwan–United States relations|Taiwan]] does not have formal diplomatic relations with the U.S., it maintains close unofficial relations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2022 |title=US will continue to strengthen 'unofficial ties' with Taiwan, says Harris |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3194126/us-will-continue-strengthen-unofficial-ties-taiwan-vice |access-date=September 28, 2022 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref> The United States regularly supplies Taiwan with [[Six Assurances|military equipment]] to deter potential Chinese aggression.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/09/22/915818283/formal-ties-with-u-s-not-for-now-says-taiwan-foreign-minister|title=Formal Ties With U.S.? Not For Now, Says Taiwan Foreign Minister|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=September 22, 2020|last=Ruwitch|first=John|access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> Its geopolitical attention also turned to the [[Indo-Pacific]] when the United States joined the [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue]] with Australia, India, and Japan.<ref name="kobara">{{cite news |last1=Kobara |first1=Junnosuke |last2=Moriyasu |first2=Ken |date=27 March 2021 |title=Japan will turn to Quad in 'nealsow Cold War': Defense Ministry think tank |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Japan-will-turn-to-Quad-in-new-Cold-War-Defense-Ministry-think-tank |access-date=13 April 2021 |work=Nikkei Asia}}</ref> The United States has a "[[Special Relationship]]" [[United Kingdom–United States relations|with the United Kingdom]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLy-NKnQitIC&q=uk+us+special+relationship&pg=PA45|title=America's 'Special Relationships': Foreign and Domestic Aspects of the Politics of Alliance|page=45|first1=John|first2=Axel|last2=Schäfer|last1=Dumbrell|year=2009|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-87270-3|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> and strong ties [[Canada–United States relations|with Canada]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/96-397.pdf|title=Canada–U.S. Relations|author1=Ek, Carl|first2=Ian F.|last2=Fergusson|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=September 3, 2010|access-date=August 28, 2011}}</ref> [[Australia–United States relations|Australia]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Australia: Background and U.S. Relations|author=Vaughn, Bruce|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=August 8, 2008|oclc = 70208969}}</ref> [[New Zealand–United States relations|New Zealand]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32876.pdf|title=New Zealand: Background and Bilateral Relations with the United States|author=Vaughn, Bruce|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=May 27, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011}}</ref> the [[Philippines–United States relations|Philippines]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33233.pdf|title=The Republic of the Philippines and U.S. Interests|author=Lum, Thomas|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=January 3, 2011|access-date=August 3, 2011}}</ref> [[Japan–United States relations|Japan]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33436.pdf|title=Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress|author=Chanlett-Avery, Emma|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=June 8, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011|display-authors=etal}}</ref> [[South Korea–United States relations|South Korea]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41481.pdf|title=U.S.–South Korea Relations: Issues for Congress|first1=Mark E.|last1=Manyin|first2=Emma|last2=Chanlett-Avery|first3=Mary Beth|last3=Nikitin|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=July 8, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011}}</ref> [[Israel–United States relations|Israel]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33476.pdf|title=Israel: Background and U.S. Relations|author=Zanotti, Jim|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=July 31, 2014|access-date=September 12, 2014}}</ref> and several [[European Union]] countries ([[France–United States relations|France]], [[Italy–United States relations|Italy]], [[Germany–United States relations|Germany]], [[Spain–United States relations|Spain]], and [[Poland–United States relations|Poland]]).<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 20, 2021|url=https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-poland/|title=U.S. Relations With Poland|website=State.gov|access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref> The U.S. works closely with its [[NATO]] allies on military and [[national security]] issues, and with countries in the Americas through the [[Organization of American States]] and the [[United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement|United States–Mexico–Canada Free Trade Agreement]]. In South America, [[Colombia]] is traditionally considered to be the closest ally of the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Untapped Potential of the US-Colombia Partnership|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/untapped-potential-us-colombia-partnership/|date=September 26, 2019|website=Atlantic Council|language=en|access-date=May 30, 2020|last1=Kimer |first1=James }}</ref> The U.S. exercises full international defense authority and responsibility for [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]], the [[Marshall Islands]], and [[Palau]] through the [[Compact of Free Association]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles L. |last=Zelden |url=https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld |title=The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-85109-702-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/judicialbranchof0000zeld/page/217 217] |access-date=October 25, 2015 |url-access=registration}}<br />{{cite book |first1=Loren |last1=Yager |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TfoBd7_KsZMC&pg=PA7 |title=Foreign Relations: Migration from Micronesian Nations Has Had Significant Impact on Guam, Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands |first2=Emil |last2=Friberg |first3=Leslie |last3=Holen |date=2003 |publisher=Diane Publishing |isbn=978-0-7567-3394-0 |page=7}}</ref> It has increasingly conducted strategic cooperation [[India–United States relations|with India]],<ref>{{cite web |title=INDO- PACIFIC STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf |publisher=White House |access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref> but its [[China–United States relations|ties with China]] have steadily deteriorated.<ref>{{cite report |last=Meidan |first=Michal |title=US-China: The Great Decoupling |date=July 1, 2019 |publisher=[[Oxford Institute for Energy Studies]] |jstor=resrep33982}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bala |first=Sumathi |title=U.S.-China relations are going downhill with 'no trust' on either side, Stephen Roach says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/28/us-china-ties-on-dangerous-path-with-no-trust-on-both-sides-roach-cohen.html |access-date=May 7, 2023 |publisher=CNBC |date=March 28, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Since 2014, the U.S. has become a [[Ukraine–United States relations|key ally of Ukraine]];<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rumer|first1=Eugene|last2=Sokolsky|first2=Richard|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/06/20/thirty-years-of-u.s.-policy-toward-russia-can-vicious-circle-be-broken-pub-79323|title=Thirty Years of U.S. Policy Toward Russia: Can the Vicious Circle Be Broken?|newspaper=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=June 20, 2019|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> it has also provided the country with significant military equipment and other support in response to Russia's 2022 invasion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Macias |first=Amanda |title=Here's a look at the $5.6 billion in firepower the U.S. has committed to Ukraine in its fight against Russia |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/17/russia-ukraine-war-summary-of-weapons-us-has-given-to-ukraine.html |access-date=September 28, 2022 |publisher=CNBC |date=June 17, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> === Military === {{Main|United States Armed Forces|Military history of the United States}} [[File:Aerial view of the Pentagon, Arlington, VA (38285035892).jpg|thumb|[[The Pentagon]], the headquarters of the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia]], is one of the world's largest office buildings with about {{convert|6.5|e6ft2|m2}} of [[floor space]].]] The President is the [[Commander-in-Chief of the United States|commander-in-chief]] of the United States Armed Forces and appoints its leaders, the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] and the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]]. The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]], which is headquartered at [[the Pentagon]] near Washington, D.C., administers five of the six service branches, which are made up of the [[United States Army|Army]], [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], [[United States Navy|Navy]], [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], and [[United States Space Force|Space Force]]. The [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] is administered by the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] in peacetime and can be transferred to the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] in wartime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/happy-231st-birthday-united-states-coast-guard|title=Happy 231st Birthday to the United States Coast Guard!|last=Lindsay|first=James M.|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|location=New York City|date=August 4, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2022|quote=During peacetime it is part of the Department of Homeland Security. During wartime, or when the president or Congress so direct, it becomes part of the Department of Defense and is included in the Department of the Navy.}}</ref> The United States [[Military budget of the United States|spent $877 billion on its military]] in 2022, which is by far the [[List of countries with highest military expenditures|largest amount]] of any country, making up 39% of global military spending and accounting for 3.5% of the country's GDP.'''''<ref name="SIPRI-20202">{{cite web |date=April 2023 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf |access-date=April 29, 2023 |publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]}}</ref>'''''<ref>{{cite web| url=https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932020%20in%20constant%20%282019%29%20USD%20%28pdf%29.pdf| title=Data for all countries from 1988–2020 in constant (2019) USD (pdf)| publisher=SIPRI| access-date=April 28, 2021| archive-date=April 28, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428180002/https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/Data%20for%20all%20countries%20from%201988%E2%80%932020%20in%20constant%20(2019)%20USD%20(pdf).pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> The U.S. has [[Nuclear weapons of the United States|45% of the world's nuclear weapons]], the second-largest amount after Russia.<ref>{{cite web|last=Reichmann|first=Kelsey|date=June 16, 2019|title=Here's how many nuclear warheads exist, and which countries own them|url=https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/06/16/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://conifer.rhizome.org/mossypiglet/wikipedia-citations/20200923183006/https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/06/16/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them/|archive-date=September 23, 2020|access-date=September 23, 2020|website=defensenews.com|publisher=Sightline Media Group}}</ref> The United States has the third-largest combined armed forces in the world, behind the [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese People's Liberation Army]] and [[Indian Armed Forces]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hackett |first1=James |title=The military balance. 2023 |date=2023 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-1032508955}}</ref> The military operates about 800 bases and facilities abroad,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/5/18/8600659/military-bases-united-states|title=Why does the US have 800 military bases around the world?|last=Harris|first=Johnny|date=May 18, 2015|website=Vox|access-date=September 23, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924114313/https://www.vox.com/2015/5/18/8600659/military-bases-united-states}}</ref> and maintains [[United States military deployments|deployments greater than 100 active duty personnel]] in 25 foreign countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/MILITARY/history/hst1003.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724211511/https://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/MILITARY/history/hst1003.pdf|title=Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A)|publisher=Department of Defense|date=March 31, 2010|access-date=October 7, 2010|archive-date=July 24, 2013}}</ref> === Law enforcement and crime === {{Main|Law of the United States|Law enforcement in the United States|Crime in the United States|Censorship in the United States}} [[File:Washington DC, FBI - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[J. Edgar Hoover Building]], the headquarters of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), in [[Washington, D.C.]]]] There are about 18,000 U.S. police agencies from local to national level in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Banks |first1=Duren |last2=Hendrix |first2=Joshua |last3=Hickman |first3=Mathhew |date=October 4, 2016 |title=National Sources of Law Enforcement Employment Data |url=https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/nsleed.pdf |journal=[[U.S. Department of Justice]] |pages=1}}</ref> Law in the United States is mainly [[Law enforcement in the United States|enforced]] by local police departments and [[Sheriffs in the United States|sheriff departments]] in their municipal or county jurisdictions. The [[State police (United States)|state police]] departments [[Police power (United States constitutional law)|have authority in their respective state]], and [[Federal law enforcement in the United States|federal agencies]] such as the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) and the [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]] have national jurisdiction and specialized duties, such as protecting [[civil rights]], [[National security of the United States|national security]] and enforcing [[U.S. federal courts]]' rulings and federal laws.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Who Governs & What They Do|publisher=Chiff.com|url=https://www.chiff.com/police/federal-police-agencies.htm|access-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210040432/https://www.chiff.com/police/federal-police-agencies.htm|archive-date=February 10, 2014|url-status= }}</ref> [[State court (United States)|State courts]] conduct most civil and criminal trials,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Manweller|first1=Mathew|editor1-last=Hogan|editor1-first=Sean O.|title=The Judicial Branch of State Government: People, Process, and Politics|date=2006|publisher=[[ABC-Clio]]|location=[[Santa Barbara, California]]|isbn=978-1-85109-751-7|pages=37–96|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ong5k8n97P4C&pg=PA55|access-date=October 5, 2020|chapter=Chapter 2, The Roles, Functions, and Powers of State Courts}}</ref> and federal courts handle designated crimes and [[United States courts of appeals|appeals of state court decisions]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/federal-courts|title=Introduction To The Federal Court System|work=[[United States Attorney]]|date=November 7, 2014 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]|access-date=July 14, 2022|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> As of January 2023, the United States has the [[List of countries by incarceration rate|sixth highest per-capita incarceration rate]] in the world, at 531 people per 100,000; and the largest [[Incarceration in the United States|prison and jail population]] in the world with almost 2 million people incarcerated.<ref>[http://www.prisonstudies.org/country/united-states-america United States of America]. [[World Prison Brief]].</ref><ref name="WorldPrisonBrief">[http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest Highest to Lowest]. [[World Prison Brief]] (WPB). Use the dropdown menu to choose lists of countries by region or the whole world. Use the menu to select highest-to-lowest lists of prison population totals, prison population rates, percentage of pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners, percentage of female prisoners, percentage of foreign prisoners, and occupancy rate. Column headings in WPB tables can be clicked to reorder columns lowest to highest, or alphabetically. For detailed information for each country click on any country name in lists. See the [http://www.prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief-data WPB main data page] and click on the map links or the sidebar links to get to the region and country desired.</ref><ref name="WholePie2023">{{cite report|url=https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2023.html|title=Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2023|last1=Sawyer|first1=Wendy|last2=Wagner|first2=Peter|date=March 14, 2023|publisher=Prison Policy Initiative|access-date=May 13, 2023}}</ref> An analysis of the [[World Health Organization]] Mortality Database from 2010 showed U.S. homicide rates "were 7 times higher than in other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25 times higher."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Grinshteyn|first1=Erin|last2=Hemenway|first2=David|date=March 2016|title=Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-income OECD Countries, 2010|url=https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(15)01030-X/fulltext|journal=[[The American Journal of Medicine]]|volume=129|issue=3|pages=226–273|doi=10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.10.025|pmid=26551975|access-date=June 18, 2017|doi-access=free}}</ref> == Economy == {{Main|Economy of the United States}} {{further|Economic history of the United States|Tourism in the United States}} [[File:US one dollar bill, obverse, series 2009.jpg|thumb|alt=see caption|The [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]], the most-used currency in [[international trade|international transactions]] and the world's foremost [[reserve currency]]<ref name="federalreserve.gov">{{cite web |title=The Implementation of Monetary Policy – The Federal Reserve in the International Sphere |url=http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_4.pdf |access-date=August 24, 2010}}</ref>]] [[File:Aerial_Microsoft_West_Campus_August_2009.jpg|thumb|[[Microsoft campus]], in [[Redmond, Washington]], is the headquarters of [[Microsoft]], the world's [[List of public corporations by market capitalization|biggest company by market capitalization]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 31, 2024|date=January 12, 2024|editor=[[The New York Times]]|title=Microsoft Tops Apple to Become Most Valuable Public Company|website=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/12/technology/microsoft-apple-most-valuable-company.html}}<!-- auto-translated from Portuguese by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>]] The U.S. has been the world's [[List of countries by largest historical GDP|largest economy nominally since about 1890]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fordham |first=Benjamin |date=October 2017 |title=Protectionist Empire: Trade, Tariffs, and United States Foreign Policy, 1890–1914 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0898588x17000116 |journal=Studies in American Political Development |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=170–192 |doi=10.1017/s0898588x17000116 |s2cid=148917255 |issn=0898-588X}}</ref> The 2023 nominal U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) of $27 trillion was the largest in the world, constituting over 25% of the global economy or 15% at [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP).<ref name="IMF-2023">{{cite web |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=111,&s=NGDP_R,NGDP_RPCH,NGDP,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDP_D,NGDPRPC,NGDPRPPPPC,NGDPPC,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,NGAP_NPGDP,PPPSH,PPPEX,NID_NGDP,NGSD_NGDP,PCPI,PCPIPCH,PCPIE,PCPIEPCH,FLIBOR6,TM_RPCH,TMG_RPCH,TX_RPCH,TXG_RPCH,LUR,LE,LP,GGR,GGR_NGDP,GGX,GGX_NGDP,GGXCNL,GGXCNL_NGDP,GGSB,GGSB_NPGDP,GGXONLB,GGXONLB_NGDP,GGXWDN,GGXWDN_NGDP,GGXWDG,GGXWDG_NGDP,NGDP_FY,BCA,BCA_NGDPD,&sy=2021&ey=2023&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |website=Imf.org}}</ref><ref name="IMF.WEO.US">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=111,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (US) |website=IMF.org |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |date=October 10, 2023 |access-date=October 10, 2023 }}</ref> From 1983 to 2008, U.S. real compounded annual GDP growth was 3.3%, compared to a 2.3% weighted average for the rest of the [[G7|Group of Seven]].<ref name="Hagopian">{{cite journal |author=Hagopian |first1=Kip |last2=Ohanian |first2=Lee |date=August 1, 2012 |title=The Mismeasure of Inequality |url=https://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/123566 |url-status=dead |journal=Policy Review |issue=174 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203012353/https://www.hoover.org/publications/policy-review/article/123566 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=January 23, 2020 }}</ref> The country ranks first in the world by [[Disposable and discretionary income|disposable income]] per capita and [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|nominal GDP]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-fourth-quarter-and-year-2022-third-estimate-gdp-industry-and|title=Gross Domestic Product, Fourth Quarter and Year 2022 (Third Estimate), GDP by Industry, and Corporate Profits|publisher=[[United States Department of Commerce|U.S. Department of Commerce]]}}</ref> second by [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|GDP (PPP)]], after China;<ref name="IMF.WEO.US" /> and ninth by [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP (PPP) per capita]].<ref name="IMF.WEO.US" /> Of the world's [[Fortune Global 500|500 largest companies]], 136 are headquartered in the U.S.<ref name="Fortune-2022">{{Cite web |title=Global 500 |url=https://fortune.com/global500/2022/ |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=[[Fortune Global 500]] |language=en}}</ref> The [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] is the currency most used in [[international trade|international transactions]] and is the world's foremost [[reserve currency]], backed by the country's dominant economy, [[United States Armed Forces|its military]], the [[petrodollar]] system, and its linked [[eurodollar]] and large [[U.S. Treasury|U.S. treasuries market]].<ref name="federalreserve.gov" /> Several countries [[International use of the U.S. dollar|use it as their official currency]] and in others it is the [[de facto currency|''de facto'' currency]].<ref name="Benjamin J. Cohen 2006, p. 17">Benjamin J. Cohen, ''The Future of Money'', Princeton University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0691116660}}; ''cf''. "the dollar is the de facto currency in Cambodia", Charles Agar, ''[[Frommer's]] Vietnam'', 2006, {{ISBN|0471798169}}, p. 17</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 31, 2014 |title=US GDP Growth Rate by Year |url=http://www.multpl.com/us-gdp-growth-rate/table/by-year |access-date=June 18, 2014 |website=multpl.com |publisher=US Bureau of Economic Analysis}}</ref> It has [[free trade agreements]] with [[Free trade agreements of the United States|several countries]], including the [[United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement|USMCA]].<ref>{{cite web |title=United States free trade agreements |url=https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements |access-date=May 31, 2019 |work=[[Office of the United States Trade Representative]]}}</ref> The U.S. ranked second in the [[Global Competitiveness Report]] in 2019, after Singapore.<ref name="World Economic Forum">{{cite web |title=Rankings: Global Competitiveness Report 2013–2014 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2013-14/GCR_Rankings_2013-14.pdf |access-date=June 1, 2014 |publisher=World Economic Forum}}</ref> While its economy has reached [[Post-industrial economy|a post-industrial level of development]], the United States [[Manufacturing in the United States|remains an industrial power]].<ref name="Econ">{{cite web|title=USA Economy in Brief|url=https://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html|publisher=U.S. Dept. of State, International Information Programs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312123609/https://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/economy-in-brief/page3.html|archive-date=March 12, 2008}}</ref> {{As of|2021}}, the U.S. is the [[List of countries by manufacturing output|second-largest manufacturing country]] after China.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manufacturing, Value Added (Current US$) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107135049/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true |archive-date=January 7, 2020 |access-date=July 14, 2021 |publisher=[[World Bank]]}}</ref> [[File:Gaming-Wall-Street BTS Prodigium-266.jpg|thumb|The [[New York Stock Exchange]] on [[Wall Street]], the world's [[List of stock exchanges#Major stock exchanges|largest stock exchange by market capitalization]]<ref name=NYSEhighestcap>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/nyse-new-york-stock-exchange/|title=NYSE: What Is The New York Stock Exchange|author= Kat Tretina and Benjamin Curry|work=Forbes|date=April 9, 2021|access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref>]] New York City is the world's principal [[financial center]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Huw |date=March 24, 2022 |title=New York widens lead over London in top finance centres index |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/new-york-widens-lead-over-london-top-finance-centres-index-2022-03-24/ |access-date=July 29, 2022 |website=Reuters.com}}{{title missing|date=July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=September 22, 2022 |title=The Global Financial Centres Index 32 |url=https://www.longfinance.net/programmes/financial-centre-futures/global-financial-centres-index/gfci-32-explore-the-data/gfci-32-rank/ |access-date=September 22, 2022 |publisher=Long Finance}}</ref> and the epicenter of the world's [[list of cities by GDP|largest metropolitan economy]].<ref name="NYCEpicenterUSMetroEconomy">{{cite web |author=Iman Ghosh |date=September 24, 2020 |title=This 3D map shows the U.S. cities with the highest economic output |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/united-states-america-economic-output-new-york-la/ |access-date=March 5, 2023 |publisher=World Economic Forum |quote=The New York metro area dwarfs all other cities for economic output by a large margin.}}</ref> The [[New York Stock Exchange]] and [[Nasdaq]], both located in New York City, are the world's two [[List of stock exchanges|largest stock exchanges]] by [[market capitalization]] and [[trade volume]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Monthly Reports – World Federation of Exchanges |url=https://www.world-exchanges.org/our-work/statistics |publisher=WFE}}</ref><ref name="sfc.hk">[http://www.sfc.hk/web/doc/EN/research/stat/a01.pdf Table A – Market Capitalization of the World's Top Stock Exchanges (As at end of June 2012)]. Securities and Exchange Commission (China).</ref> The United States is at or near the forefront of [[Science and technology in the United States|technological advancement]] and [[innovation]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=WIPO |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2022/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2022, 15th Edition |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2022 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |access-date=February 25, 2023}}</ref> in many economic fields, especially in [[artificial intelligence]]; computers; [[pharmaceuticals]]; and medical, [[aerospace]] and [[military equipment]].<ref>{{cite web |title=United States reference resource |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/ |access-date=May 31, 2019 |work=[[The World Factbook]] Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> The country's economy is fueled by abundant [[natural resource]]s, a well-developed infrastructure, and [[List of countries by labour productivity|high productivity]].<ref name="Wright, Gavin 2007 p. 185">Wright, Gavin, and Jesse Czelusta, "Resource-Based Growth Past and Present", in ''Natural Resources: Neither Curse Nor Destiny'', ed. Daniel Lederman and William Maloney (World Bank, 2007), p. 185. {{ISBN|0821365452}}.</ref> The [[List of the largest trading partners of the United States|largest U.S. trading partners]] are the [[European Union]], Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, [[South Korea]], the United Kingdom, [[Vietnam]], India, and [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite web |date=October 2022 |title=Top Trading Partners – October 2022 |url=https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/top1612yr.html |access-date=May 12, 2023 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> The United States is the world's [[List of countries by imports|largest importer]] and the [[List of countries by exports|second-largest exporter]] after China.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Trade Statistical Review 2019 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts2019_e/wts2019_e.pdf |access-date=May 31, 2019 |work=[[World Trade Organization]] |page=100}}</ref> It is by far the world's [[List of countries by service exports|largest exporter]] of [[Service exports|services]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Service exports (BoP, current US$) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.GSR.NFSV.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true&year_high_desc=false |access-date=August 4, 2023 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> Americans have the highest average [[Household income|household]] and [[List of countries by average wage|employee]] income among [[OECD]] member states,<ref>{{cite web |title=Income |url=http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/income/ |access-date=September 28, 2019 |work=Better Life Index |publisher=OECD |quote=In the United States, the average household net adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 45 284 a year, much higher than the OECD average of USD 33 604 and the highest figure in the OECD.}}</ref> and the fourth-highest [[Median income|median household income]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Median Income by Country 2023 |url=https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/median-income-by-country/ |access-date=July 28, 2023 |website=Wisevoter |language=en-US}}</ref> up from sixth-highest in 2013.<ref name="Household Income">{{cite journal |date=March 18, 2014 |url=http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/society-at-a-glance-2014_soc_glance-2014-en |journal=Society at a Glance 2014: OECD Social Indicators |publisher=OECD Publishing |doi=10.1787/soc_glance-2014-en |isbn=9789264200722 |access-date=May 29, 2014 |doi-access=free |title=Society at a Glance 2014 }}</ref> [[Wealth in the United States]] is [[Wealth inequality in the United States|highly concentrated]]; the richest 10% of the adult population own 72% of the country's household wealth, while the bottom 50% own just 2%.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Piketty|first1=Thomas|title=Capital in the Twenty-First Century|title-link=Capital in the Twenty-First Century|date=2014|publisher=Belknap Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780674430006/page/257 257]|author-link1=Thomas Piketty}} {{ISBN|978-0-674-43000-6}}</ref> [[Income inequality in the United States|Income inequality in the U.S.]] remains at record highs,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/26/income-inequality-america-highest-its-been-since-census-started-tracking-it-data-show/ |title=Income inequality in America is the highest it's been since Census Bureau started tracking it, data shows |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=July 27, 2020}}</ref> with the top fifth of earners taking home more than half of all income<ref>{{Cite news|last=Long|first=Heather|date=September 12, 2017|title=U.S. middle-class incomes reached highest-ever level in 2016, Census Bureau says|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-middle-class-incomes-reached-highest-ever-level-in-2016-census-bureau-says/2017/09/12/7226905e-97de-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html|access-date=November 11, 2019}}</ref> and giving the U.S. one of the widest income distributions among OECD members.<ref name="Sme">{{cite journal|last1=Smeeding|first1=T.M.|year=2005|title=Public Policy: Economic Inequality and Poverty: The United States in Comparative Perspective|journal=Social Science Quarterly| volume=86|pages=955–983|doi= 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00331.x| s2cid=154642286}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hopkin|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Hopkin|date=2020 |title=Anti-System Politics: The Crisis of Market Liberalism in Rich Democracies|chapter=American Nightmare: How Neoliberalism Broke US Democracy|url=|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IyXTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87|location= |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|pages=87–88 |isbn=978-0190699765|doi=10.1093/oso/9780190699765.003.0004}}</ref> The U.S. ranks first in the number of dollar [[List of countries by number of billionaires|billionaires]] and [[List of countries by number of millionaires|millionaires]], with 735 billionaires and nearly 22 million millionaires (as of 2023).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Here's How Many Billionaires And Millionaires Live In The U.S. – Forbes Advisor |url=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/retirement/how-many-billionaires-and-millionaires-live-in-the-u-s/#:~:text=As%20of%202023,%20there%20are,your%20own%20definition%20of%20wealth. |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=Forbes}}</ref> There were about 582,500 sheltered and unsheltered [[Homelessness in the United States|homeless persons in the U.S.]] in 2022, with 60% staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2022-AHAR-Part-1.pdf|title=The 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress|date= December 2022|website= |publisher=The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development|access-date=June 16, 2023 }}</ref> In 2018, six million children experienced food insecurity.<ref name="ers.usda.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx|title=USDA ERS – Key Statistics & Graphics|website= ers.usda.gov|access-date=December 4, 2019}}</ref> [[Feeding America]] estimates that around one in seven, or approximately 11 million, [[Hunger in the United States#Children|children experience hunger]] and do not know where they will get their next meal or when.<ref name="FactsAbout">{{Cite web|title= Facts About Child Hunger in America {{!}} Feeding America|url= https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/child-hunger-facts| access-date=December 4, 2019|website= feedingamerica.org}}</ref> {{as of|2021|post=,}} 38 million people, about 12% of the U.S. population, were living [[Poverty in the United States|in poverty]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/poverty-awareness-month.html|title=National Poverty in America Awareness Month: January 2023|first=US Census|last=Bureau|website=Census.gov}}</ref> The United States has a smaller [[welfare state]] and redistributes less income through government action than most other [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income]] countries.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Isabelle|last1=Joumard|first2=Mauro|last2=Pisu|first3=Debbie|last3=Bloch|title=Tackling income inequality The role of taxes and transfers|url=https://www.oecd.org/eco/public-finance/TacklingincomeinequalityTheroleoftaxesandtransfers.pdf|publisher=OECD|access-date=May 21, 2015|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rank|first=Mark Robert |author-link=Mark Robert Rank|date=2023|title=The Poverty Paradox: Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hGewEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA116|location= |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|pages=116–117 |isbn= 978-0190212636}}</ref> It is the only [[advanced economy]] that does not [[List of statutory minimum employment leave by country|guarantee its workers paid vacation]] nationally<ref>{{cite news |last=Min |first=Sarah |date=May 24, 2019 |title=1 in 4 workers in U.S. don't get any paid vacation time or holidays|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-in-four-workers-in-us-dont-get-any-paid-vacation-time-or-holidays/|publisher=CBS News |access-date=July 15, 2022|quote=The United States is the only advanced economy that does not federally mandate any paid vacation days or holidays. }}</ref> and is one of a few countries in the world without federal [[Parental leave in the United States|paid family leave]] as a legal right.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bernard |first=Tara Siegel |date=February 22, 2013 |title=In Paid Family Leave, U.S. Trails Most of the Globe |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/your-money/us-trails-much-of-the-world-in-providing-paid-family-leave.html |access-date=August 27, 2013}}</ref> The United States has a higher percentage of low-income [[Working class in the United States|workers]] than almost any other developed country, largely because of a weak [[collective bargaining]] system and lack of government support for at-risk workers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Van Dam|first=Andrew|date=July 4, 2018|title=Is it great to be a worker in the U.S.? Not compared with the rest of the developed world.|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/07/04/is-it-great-to-be-a-worker-in-the-u-s-not-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-developed-world/?noredirect=on|access-date=July 12, 2018}}</ref> === Science, technology, and energy === {{Main|Science and technology in the United States|Science policy of the United States|Communications in the United States|Energy in the United States}} [[File:Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag-crop.jpg|thumb|U.S. astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] saluting the [[Flag of the United States|American flag]] on the [[Moon]] during the 1969 [[Apollo 11]] mission; the United States is the only country that has [[Moon landing|landed crews on the lunar surface]].]] The United States has been a leader in technological [[innovation]] since the late 19th century and scientific research since the mid-20th century. Methods for producing [[interchangeable parts]] and the establishment of a [[machine tool]] industry enabled [[American system of manufacturing|the large-scale manufacturing]] of U.S. consumer products in the late 19th century. By the early 20th century, factory [[electrification]], the introduction of the [[assembly line]], and other [[automation|labor-saving techniques]] created the system of [[mass production]].<ref>{{Hounshell1984}}</ref> The United States is a leader in the development of [[artificial intelligence]] technology and has maintained [[Space policy of the United States|a space program]] since the late 1950s, with [[Artemis program|plans for long-term habitation of the Moon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Global AI Vibrancy Tool |url=https://aiindex.stanford.edu/vibrancy/ |website=Artificial Intelligence Index |publisher=Stanford University |year=2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Mike Wall |date=2023-06-09 |title=SpaceX Starship problems likely to delay Artemis 3 moon mission to 2026, NASA says |url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-problems-delay-artemis-3-2026 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref> <!--This can be expanded into a section about the American space program.--><!--The nation returned to [[Exploration of the Moon|space exploration]] with the [[Artemis program|''Artemis'' Program]]; it plans for a [[Artemis 3|crewed lunar landing]] and launch of the world's [[Lunar Gateway|first planned extraterrestrial space station]], both in 2025, and yearly returns to the moon thereafter. Its long-term goal is to establish a [[Colonization of the Moon|permanent base on the Moon]] to facilitate the feasibility of [[Human mission to Mars|human missions to Mars]].<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Mike Wall |date=2023-06-09 |title=SpaceX Starship problems likely to delay Artemis 3 moon mission to 2026, NASA says |url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-problems-delay-artemis-3-2026 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Space.com |language=en}}</ref>--> In 2022, the United States was the country with the [[List of countries by number of scientific and technical journal articles|second-highest number of published scientific papers]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=SJR – International Science Ranking|url=https://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php?order=itp&ord=desc&year=2020|access-date=February 5, 2022|website=Scimagojr.com|language=en-uk}}</ref> As of 2021, the U.S. ranked second by the number of [[World Intellectual Property Indicators|patent applications]], and third by trademark and industrial design applications.<ref>{{cite book |title=World Intellectual Property Indicators 2021 |url=https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4571&plang=EN |access-date=April 27, 2022 | doi=10.34667/tind.44461 |language=en | author1=World Intellectual Property Organization. | series=World IP Indicators (WIPI) | year=2021 | publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) | isbn=9789280533293 }}</ref> In 2023, the United States ranked 3rd in the [[Global Innovation Index]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=2023-10-17 |date=December 28, 2023 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en}}</ref> {{as of|2022}}, the United States receives approximately 81% of its energy from fossil fuel and the largest source of the country's energy came from [[Petroleum in the United States|petroleum]] (35.8%), followed by [[Natural gas in the United States|natural gas]] (33.4%), [[Renewable energy in the United States|renewable sources]] (13.3%), [[Coal in the United States|coal]] (9.8%), and [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear power]] (8%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. energy facts explained - consumption and production - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) |url=https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/ |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=eia.gov}}</ref><ref name="visu">{{cite web |date= March 2022|title=Energy Flow Charts: Charting the Complex Relationships among Energy, Water, and Carbon |url=https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/ |access-date=May 16, 2023 |publisher=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory}}</ref><!--Numbers do not add up to 100 due to rounding errors. --> The United States constitutes less than 5% of the [[world population|world's population]], but consumes 17% of the world's energy.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 5, 2021 |title=What is the United States' share of world energy consumption? |work=[[Energy Information Administration|U.S. Energy Information Administration]] |url=https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=87&t=1}}</ref><ref name="EIA">{{cite web |title=EIA – Petroleum Basic Data |date=October 28, 2022|url =https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/data-and-statistics.php |access-date=August 27, 2023 |publisher=Eia.doe.gov}}</ref> The U.S. ranks as the [[List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions|second-highest emitter of greenhouse gases]].<ref>{{cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=February 8, 2017 |title=Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks |url= https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks |access-date=December 3, 2020 |website=US EPA |language=en}}</ref> === Transportation === {{Main|Transportation in the United States}} [[File:Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]], serving the [[Atlanta metropolitan area]], is the world's [[List of busiest airports by passenger traffic|busiest airport by passenger traffic]] with over 93 million passengers annually in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-busiest-airports-2021/index.html|title=This US airport has reclaimed its title as the world's busiest|publisher=CNN|first=Marnie|last=Hunter|date=April 11, 2022}}</ref>]] Personal transportation in the United States is [[Car dependency|dominated by automobiles]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 19, 2022 |title=Cars still dominate the American commute |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/commute-america-sustainability-cars/ |access-date=May 21, 2023 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Humes |first=Edward |date=April 12, 2016 |title=The Absurd Primacy of the Automobile in American Life |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/absurd-primacy-of-the-car-in-american-life/476346/ |access-date=July 12, 2023 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> which operate on a network of {{convert|4|e6mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} of public roads, making it the [[List of countries by road network size|longest network]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roadways – The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/roadways/country-comparison |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712201909/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/roadways/country-comparison |archive-date=July 12, 2021 |access-date=July 15, 2021 |website=Cia.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Public Road and Street Mileage in the United States by Type of Surface|url=https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html|website=United States Department of Transportation|access-date=January 13, 2015|archive-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102141414/https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html|url-status =dead }}</ref> The [[Oldsmobile Curved Dash]] and the [[Ford Model T]], both American cars, are considered the first mass-produced<ref>{{Cite news |date= January 26, 1986 |title=SOME MILESTONES OF THE AUTO AGE |language= en-US |work=The New York Times |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/26/automobiles/some-milestones-of-the-auto-age.html |access-date=June 1, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and mass-affordable<ref>{{Cite news |date =September 1, 2002|title=1926 Ford Model T Sports Touring Car |language= en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/09/01/1926-ford-model-t-sports-touring-car/810e313f-4370-44b7-bb76-3282f9de945e/ |access-date=June 1, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> cars, respectively. As of 2022, the United States is the [[List of countries by motor vehicle production|second-largest manufacturer of motor vehicles]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 production statistics |url= https://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2022-statistics/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website= International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers}}</ref> and is home to [[Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]], the world's most valuable car company.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klebnikov | first=Sergei |title=Tesla Is Now The World's Most Valuable Car Company With A $208 Billion Valuation |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/07/01/tesla-is-now-the-worlds-most-valuable-car-company-with-a-valuation-of-208-billion/ |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> American automotive company [[General Motors]] held the title of the world's best-selling automaker from 1931 to 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bunkley |first=Nick |date=January 21, 2009 |title=Toyota Ahead of G.M. in 2008 Sales |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/business/22auto.html |access-date=April 14, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Currently, the [[American automotive industry]] is the world's second-largest automobile market by sales,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jan/08/china-us-car-sales-overtakes|title=China overtakes US in car sales|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 8, 2010|access-date=July 10, 2011|location=London}}</ref> and the U.S. has the [[List of countries by vehicles per capita|highest vehicle ownership per capita]] in the world,<ref>{{cite web|date=January 30, 2017|title=Fact #962: Vehicles per Capita: Other Regions/Countries Compared to the United States|url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-962-january-30-2017-vehicles-capita-other-regionscountries-compared-united-states|access-date=January 23, 2021|website=Energy.gov|language=en}}</ref> with 910 vehicles per 1000 people.<ref name="USBTS">{{cite web|url=https://capitol-tires.com/how-many-cars-per-capita-in-the-us.html|title=Vehicle Statistics: Cars Per Capita|date=August 2017 |publisher=Capitol Tires}}</ref> The United States's [[Rail transport in the United States|rail transport network]], the [[List of countries by rail transport network size|longest network]] in the world,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/railways/country-comparison|title=Railways – The World Factbook|work=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> handles mostly [[Freight transport|freight]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM|title=Seasonally Adjusted Transportation Data|publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics|location=Washington, D.C.|year=2021|access-date=February 16, 2021|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422132507/https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Emma G. |date=April 24, 2017 |title=Amtrak at a Junction: Invest in Improvements, or Risk Worsening Problems |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/nyregion/amtrak-infrastructure-crisis.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> The [[List of airlines of the United States|American civil airline industry]] is entirely privately owned and has been largely [[Airline Deregulation Act|deregulated since 1978]], while [[List of airports in the United States|most major airports]] are publicly owned.<ref>{{cite web|last=Edwards|first=Chris|date=July 12, 2020|title=Privatization|url=https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/privatization|access-date=January 23, 2021|website=Downsizing the Federal Government|publisher=Cato Institute|language=en}}</ref> The three largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are U.S.-based; [[American Airlines]] is number one after its 2013 acquisition by [[US Airways]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|title=Scheduled Passengers Carried|publisher=International Air Transport Association (IATA)|year=2011|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102034843/https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|archive-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref> Of the world's [[List of busiest airports by passenger traffic|50 busiest passenger airports]], 16 are in the United States, including the top five and the busiest, [[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]].<ref name="PANYNJ 2021 report">{{cite web|url=https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/airports/statistics/statistics-general-info/annual-atr/ATR_2021.pdf|title=2021 Airport Traffic Report|work=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|date=April 2022|page=32}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport-|title=Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013—High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401052319/https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport-|archive-date=April 1, 2014|date=March 31, 2014|access-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, there are 19,969 airports in the U.S., of which 5,193 are designated as "public use", including for [[general aviation]] and other activities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Number of U.S. Airports |url=https://www.bts.gov/content/number-us-airportsa |publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |access-date=December 15, 2023}}</ref> Of the [[List of busiest container ports|fifty busiest container ports]], four are located in the United States, of which the busiest is the [[Port of Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldshipping.org/top-50-ports|title=The Top 50 Container Ports|work=[[World Shipping Council]]|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> The country's [[Inland waterways of the United States|inland waterways]] are the world's [[List of countries by waterways length|fifth-longest]], and total {{convert|41009|km|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/waterways/country-comparison |title=Waterways – The World Factbook |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=July 14, 2022}}</ref> == Demographics == {{Main|Demographics of the United States}} === Population === <!--As prose text is preferred, overly detailed statistical charts and diagrams such as economic trends, weather boxes, historical population charts, past elections results, etc. should be reserved for main sub articles on the topic as per WP:DETAIL as outlined at WP:NOTSTATS.--> {{Main|Americans|Race and ethnicity in the United States}} {{See also|List of U.S. states by population}} [[File:Aerial view of Hempstead, July 2019.JPG|thumb|The majority of the U.S. population lives in [[suburb]]s. Above: [[Nassau County, New York]] on [[Long Island]] lies immediately east of [[New York City]].]] The [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] reported 331,449,281 residents as of April 1, 2020,{{efn|This figure, like most official data for the United States as a whole, excludes the five unincorporated territories ([[Puerto Rico]], [[Guam]], the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], [[American Samoa]], and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]) and minor island possessions.}}<ref name=2020CENSUS>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2020-census-apportionment-results.htmlpid=2020CENSUS&src=pt|title=Census Bureau's 2020 Population Count|work=[[United States Census]]|access-date=April 26, 2021}}</ref> making the United States the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|third-most-populous country]] in the world, after China and India.<ref name="CIA-2018">{{cite web|title=The World Factbook: United States|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/|access-date=November 10, 2018|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> According to the Bureau's [[U.S. and World Population Clock|U.S. Population Clock]], on January 28, 2021, the U.S. population had a net gain of one person every 100 seconds, or about 864 people per day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population Clock|url=https://www.census.gov/popclock/|website=Census.gov}}</ref> In 2018, 52% of Americans age 15 and over were married, 6% were [[widowed]], 10% were divorced, and 32% had never been married.<ref>{{cite web|title=Table MS-1. Marital Status of the Population 15 Years Old and Over, by Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin: 1950 to Present|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/marital.html|access-date=September 11, 2019|website=Historical Marital Status Tables|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> In 2021, the [[total fertility rate]] for the U.S. stood at 1.7 children per woman,<ref>{{Cite web |last=McPhillips |first=Deidre |date=January 31, 2023 |title=Covid-19 'baby bump' brought an increased US fertility rate in 2021 – but also record high preterm births |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/31/health/us-birth-rate-fertility-trends-2021/index.html |access-date=April 16, 2023 |publisher=CNN |language=en}}</ref> and it had the world's highest rate of children (23%) living in [[Single parents in the United States|single-parent]] households in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. has world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/|access-date=March 17, 2020|website=Pew Research Center|language=en}}</ref> As of 2023, the five [[List of U.S. states and territories by population|most populous]] states in the nation are [[California]] (38.9 million), [[Texas]] (30.5 million), [[Florida]] (22.6 million), [[New York (state)|New York]] (19.5 million), and [[Pennsylvania]] (12.9 million). The United States has a diverse population; 37 [[American ancestries|ancestry groups]] have more than one million members.<ref name="An2000">{{cite web|title=Ancestry 2000|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|date=June 2004|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url-status=live|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041204015245/https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|archive-date=December 4, 2004|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref> [[Non-Hispanic whites|White Americans]] with ancestry from Europe, the Middle East or North Africa, form the largest [[race (human classification)|racial]] and [[ethnic group]] at 57.8% of the United States population.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/2020-united-states-population-more-racially-ethnically-diverse-than-2010.html | title=The Chance That Two People Chosen at Random Are of Different Race or Ethnicity Groups Has Increased Since 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Table 52. Population by Selected Ancestry Group and Region: 2009|url=https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0052.pdf|year=2009|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225031832/https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0052.pdf|archive-date=December 25, 2012|access-date=February 11, 2017}}</ref> [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] form the second-largest group and are 18.7% of the United States population. African Americans constitute the country's third-largest ancestry group and are 12.1% of the total U.S. population.<ref name="An2000" /> Asian Americans are the country's fourth-largest group, composing 5.9% of the United States population. The country's 3.7 million Native Americans account for about 1%,<ref name="An2000" /> and some 574 native tribes are recognized by the federal government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities {{!}} USAGov |url=https://www.usa.gov/indian-tribes-alaska-native |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=www.usa.gov |language=en}}</ref> In 2020, the [[median age]] of the United States population was 38.5 years.<ref name="CIA-2018" /> === Language === {{Main|Languages of the United States}} [[File:Languages_cp-02.svg|thumb|Most spoken languages in the U.S.]] While many languages are spoken in the United States, [[American English|English]] is by far the most commonly spoken and written.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaur |first=Harmeet |date=May 20, 2018 |title=FYI: English isn't the official language of the United States |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/20/us/english-us-official-language-trnd/index.html |access-date=May 11, 2023 |publisher=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Although there is no [[official language]] at the federal level, some laws, such as [[Naturalized citizen of the United States|U.S. naturalization requirements]], standardize English, and most states have declared it the official language.<ref>{{cite news|date=August 12, 2014|title=States Where English Is the Official Language|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/12/states-where-english-is-the-official-language/|access-date=September 12, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Three states and four U.S. territories have recognized local or indigenous languages in addition to English, including Hawaii ([[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]),<ref>{{cite web|date=November 7, 1978|title=The Constitution of the State of Hawaii, Article XV, Section 4|url=https://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724231656/https://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart15.html|archive-date=July 24, 2013|access-date=June 19, 2007|publisher=Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau}}</ref> Alaska ([[Alaska Native languages|twenty Native languages]]),{{efn|[[Inupiaq language|Inupiaq]], [[Central Siberian Yupik language|Siberian Yupik]], [[Central Alaskan Yup'ik language|Central Alaskan Yup'ik]], [[Alutiiq language|Alutiiq]], [[Aleut language|Unanga]] (Aleut), [[Denaʼina language|Denaʼina]], [[Deg Xinag language|Deg Xinag]], [[Holikachuk language|Holikachuk]], [[Koyukon language|Koyukon]], [[Upper Kuskokwim language|Upper Kuskokwim]], [[Gwichʼin language|Gwichʼin]], [[Lower Tanana language|Tanana]], [[Upper Tanana language|Upper Tanana]], [[Tanacross language|Tanacross]], [[Hän language|Hän]], [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]], [[Eyak language|Eyak]], [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]], [[Haida language|Haida]], and [[Coast Tsimshian dialect|Tsimshian]]}}<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chapel|first1=Bill|date=April 21, 2014|title=Alaska OKs Bill Making Native Languages Official|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/21/305688602/alaska-oks-bill-making-native-languages-official|publisher=NPR}}</ref> South Dakota ([[Sioux language|Sioux]]),<ref name="LakotaCommon">{{cite web|title=South Dakota recognizes official indigenous language|url=https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/22/south-dakota-recognizes-official-indigenous-language-governor-noem/3245113002/|access-date=March 26, 2019|publisher=[[Argus Leader]]}}</ref> American Samoa ([[Samoan language|Samoan]]), Puerto Rico ([[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish]]), Guam ([[Chamorro language|Chamorro]]), and the Northern Mariana Islands ([[Carolinian language|Carolinian]] and Chamorro). In total, 169 Native American languages are spoken in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Siebens |first1=Julie |last2=Julian |first2=Tiffany |date=December 2011 |title=Native North American Languages Spoken at Home in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2006–2010 |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2011/acs/acsbr10-10.pdf |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> In Puerto Rico, Spanish is more widely spoken than English.<ref name="PuertoRicoTranslation">{{cite web|title=Translation in Puerto Rico|url=https://www.puertorico.com/translation/|access-date=December 29, 2013|website=Puerto Rico Channel|archive-date=December 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233259/http://www.puertorico.com/translation/|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the [[American Community Survey]] in 2010, some 229 million people out of the total U.S. population of 308 million spoke only English at home. About 37 million spoke Spanish at home, making it the second most commonly used language. Other languages spoken at home by one million people or more include Chinese (2.8 million), [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] (1.6 million), [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (1.4 million), French (1.3 million), [[Korean language|Korean]] (1.1 million), and German (1 million).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table|title=American FactFinder—Results|first=U.S. Census|last=Bureau|access-date=May 29, 2017|archive-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212213140/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B16001&prodType=table|url-status=dead }}</ref> === Immigration === {{Main|Immigration to the United States|United States Border Patrol}} [[File:Border USA Mexico.jpg|thumb|The [[Mexico–United States border wall]] between [[San Diego]] (left) and [[Tijuana]] (right)]] America's immigrant population, 51 million, is by far the world's [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population|largest in absolute terms]].<ref name="UNdef">{{Cite web |author=((United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division)) |title=International Migrant Stock 2019 Documentation |url= https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/docs/MigrationStockDocumentation_2019.pdf |date=August 2019 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/data/UN_MigrantStockTotal_2019.xlsx|title=UN Migrant Stock Total 2019|publisher=United Nations|access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref> In 2022, there were 87.7 million immigrants and [[Second-generation immigrants in the United States|U.S.-born children of immigrants]] in the United States, accounting for nearly 27% of the overall U.S. population.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 14, 2019|title=Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States|work=[[Migration Policy Institute]]|url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states}}</ref> In 2017, out of the U.S. foreign-born population, some 45% (20.7 million) were naturalized citizens, 27% (12.3 million) were lawful permanent residents, 6% (2.2 million) were temporary lawful residents, and 23% (10.5 million) were unauthorized immigrants.<ref name="KeyFindings">{{cite web|date=June 17, 2019|title= Key findings about U.S. immigrants| url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/17/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref> In 2019, the top countries of origin for immigrants were Mexico (24% of immigrants), India (6%), China (5%), the Philippines (4.5%), and El Salvador (3%).<ref>{{Cite web |date= September 21, 2021|title=Immigrants in the United States |url= https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/immigrants_in_the_united_states_0.pdf |access-date=August 18, 2023 |website =americanimmigrationcouncil.org}}</ref> The United States has led the world in [[refugee resettlement]] for decades, admitting more refugees than the rest of the world combined.<ref name="PewRefugees">{{cite web|title= Key facts about refugees to the U.S.|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/|author=Jens Manuel Krogstad|date=October 7, 2019|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref> === Religion === {{Main|Religion in the United States|Irreligion in the United States}} {{See also|List of religious movements that began in the United States}} {{Pie chart | thumb = right | caption = Religious affiliation in the U.S., according to a 2022 [[Gallup, Inc.|Gallup]] poll:<ref name="auto1"/> | label1 = [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]] | value1 = 34 | color1 = DarkBlue | label2 = [[Catholicism in the United States|Catholicism]] | value2 = 23 | color2 = Blue | label3 = [[Christianity in the United States|Non-specific Christian]] | value3 = 11 | color3 = SkyBlue | label4 = [[Mormonism in the United States|Mormonism]] | value4 = 2 | color4 = #468fEA | label5 = [[Judaism in the United States|Judaism]] | value5 = 2 | color5 = Pink | label6 = [[Religion in the United States|Other religions]] | value6 = 6 | color6 = Green | label7 = [[Irreligion in the United States|Unaffiliated]] | value7 = 21 | color7 = White | label8 = Unanswered | value8 = 1 | color8 = Black }} The [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] guarantees the [[Free Exercise Clause|free exercise of religion]] and forbids Congress from passing laws respecting [[Establishment Clause|its establishment]].<ref name="Donadio-2021">{{Cite web |last=Donadio |first=Rachel |date=November 22, 2021 |title=Why Is France So Afraid of God? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/12/france-god-religion-secularism/620528/ |access-date=March 25, 2023 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=First Amendment |url=https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/#:~:text=Congress%20shall%20make%20no%20law,for%20a%20redress%20of%20grievances. |work=Constitution Annotated |publisher=[[United States Congress]]}}</ref> Religious practice is widespread, among [[List of countries ranked by ethnic and cultural diversity level|the most diverse in the world]],<ref name="alesina1">{{cite journal |last=Alesina |first=Alberto |display-authors=etal |year=2003 |title=Fractionalization |url=http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/alesina/files/fractionalization.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of Economic Growth |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=155–194 |doi=10.1023/a:1024471506938 |s2cid=260685524 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831221230/http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/alesina/files/fractionalization.pdf |archive-date=August 31, 2012 |access-date=September 13, 2012}}</ref> and profoundly vibrant.<ref name="pewreligion">{{cite web |last=Fahmy |first=Dalia |date=July 31, 2018 |title=Americans are far more religious than adults in other wealthy nations |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/31/americans-are-far-more-religious-than-adults-in-other-wealthy-nations/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109160911/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/31/americans-are-far-more-religious-than-adults-in-other-wealthy-nations/ |archive-date=January 9, 2020 |access-date=January 23, 2020 |work=Pew Research Center }}</ref> The country has the world's [[Christianity by country|largest Christian]] population.<ref name="Global Christianity">{{cite web|author=ANALYSIS|url=https://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-exec.aspx|title=Global Christianity|publisher=Pewforum.org|date=December 19, 2011|access-date=August 17, 2012|archive-date=July 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730062627/http://www.pewforum.org/christian/global-christianity-exec.aspx|url-status=dead }}</ref> A [[Jewish population by country|majority of the global Jewish population]] lives in the United States, as measured by the [[Law of Return]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=DellaPergola |first=Sergio |title=American Jewish Year Book 2020 |chapter=World Jewish Population, 2020 |date=2022 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-78706-6_7/tables/14 |url-status=live |language=en |volume=120 |pages=273–370 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-78706-6_7 |isbn=978-3-030-78705-9 |s2cid=245642037 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520051424/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-78706-6_7 |archive-date=20 May 2022 |access-date=20 May 2022}}</ref> Other notable faiths include [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], [[Islam]], many [[New Age]] movements, and [[Native American religions]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sewell |first=Elizabeth |title=The Oxford Handbook of Church and State in the United States |publisher=[[University of Oxford]] |year=2010 |isbn=9780199892228 |editor-last=Davis |editor-first=Derek |pages=249–275 |chapter=Religious Liberty and Religious Minorities in the United States}}</ref> Religious practice varies significantly by region.<ref name="Williams-2023">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Daniel |date=March 1, 2023 |title='Christian America' Isn't Dying. It's Dividing. |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/christianity-america-pew-research-statistics-minority.html |access-date=March 25, 2023 |website=[[Christianity Today]] |language=en}}</ref> "[[Ceremonial deism]]" is common in American culture.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Merriam |first1=Jesse |last2=Lupu |first2=Ira |last3=Elwood |first3=F |last4=Davis |first4=Eleanor |date=August 28, 2008 |title=On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke a Deity? |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2008/08/28/on-ceremonial-occasions-may-the-government-invoke-a-deity/ |access-date=March 31, 2023 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref> The overwhelming majority of [[Americans]] believe in a [[Higher Power|higher power]] or spiritual force, engage in [[spiritual practice]]s such as prayer, and consider themselves religious or [[Spirituality|spiritual]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kallo |display-authors=etal |first=Becka|date=2023-12-07 |title=Spirituality Among Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/12/07/spirituality-among-americans/ |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Froese |first1=Paul |last2=Uecker |first2=Jeremy E. |date=September 2022 |title=Prayer in America: A Detailed Analysis of the Various Dimensions of Prayer |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jssr.12810 |journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion |language=en |volume=61 |issue=3–4 |pages=663–689 |doi=10.1111/jssr.12810 |s2cid=253439298 |issn=0021-8294}}</ref> In the "[[Bible Belt]]", located within the Southern United States, [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Protestantism]] plays a significant role culturally, whereas [[New England]] and the Western United States tend [[Unchurched Belt|to be more secular]].<ref name="Williams-2023" /> [[Mormonism]]—a [[Restorationism|Restorationist]] movement, whose members migrated westward from Missouri and Illinois under the leadership of [[Brigham Young]] in 1847 after the assassination of [[Joseph Smith]]{{sfn|Howe|2008|pp=727–728}}—remains the predominant religion in Utah to this day.<ref>{{cite web|website=World Population Review|title=Mormon Population by State|date=June 2023|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/mormon-population-by-state}}</ref> === Urbanization === {{Main|Urbanization in the United States|List of United States cities by population}} About 82% of Americans live in [[United States urban area|urban areas]], including suburbs;<ref name="WF" /> about half of those reside in cities with populations over 50,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-state=gct&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P1&-mt_name=&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=&-format=US-1&-_lang=en|title=United States—Urban/Rural and Inside/Outside Metropolitan Area|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090403024532/https://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-state=gct&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P1&-mt_name=&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=&-format=US-1&-_lang=en|archive-date=April 3, 2009|access-date=September 23, 2008|url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2022, 333 [[List of United States cities by population|incorporated municipalities]] had populations over 100,000, nine cities had more than one million residents, and four cities (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and [[Houston]]) had populations exceeding two million.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bureau |first=US Census |title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=Census.gov}}</ref> Many U.S. metropolitan populations are growing rapidly, particularly in the South and West.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 18, 2019|title=Counties in South and West Lead Nation in Population Growth|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2019/estimates-county-metro.html|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=The United States Census Bureau|language=en}}</ref> {{Largest metropolitan areas of the United States}} === Health === {{See also|Healthcare in the United States|Healthcare reform in the United States|Health insurance in the United States}} [[File:Texas medical center.jpg|thumb|[[Texas Medical Center]] in [[Houston]] is the largest medical complex in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tmc.edu/about-tmc/|title=About Us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newsweek.com/texas-medical-center-largest-medical-complex-world-reaches-98-percent-icu-capacity-1526180 | title=Texas Medical Center, largest medical complex in the world, reaches 98 percent ICU capacity | website=[[Newsweek]] | date=August 19, 2020 }}</ref> {{As of|2018}}, it employed 120,000 people and treated 10 million patients annually.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tmc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/TMC_FactsFiguresOnePager_07052018-1.pdf|title=TMC Facts & Figures}}</ref> |alt=The Texas Medical Center, a cluster of contemporary skyscrapers, at night]] According to the [[Centers for Disease Control]] (CDC), average American life expectancy at birth was 77.5 years in 2022 (74.8 years for men and 80.2 years for women). This was a gain of 1.1 years from 76.4 years in 2021, but the CDC noted that the new average "didn't fully offset the loss of 2.4 years between 2019 and 2021". The [[COVID pandemic]] and higher overall mortality due to opioid overdoses and suicides were held mostly responsible for the previous drop in life expectancy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McPhillips |first=Deidre |date=2023-11-29 |title=US life expectancy rebounded in 2022 but not back to pre-pandemic levels |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/29/health/life-expectancy-us-2022-cdc-report/index.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |publisher=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The same report stated that the 2022 gains in average U.S. life expectancy were especially significant for men, Hispanics, and American Indian–Alaskan Native people ([[AIAN]]). Starting in 1998, the life expectancy in the U.S. fell behind that of [[List of countries by life expectancy|other wealthy industrialized countries]], and Americans' "health disadvantage" gap has been increasing ever since.<ref>{{cite news|last=Achenbach|first=Joel|date=November 26, 2019|title='There's something terribly wrong': Americans are dying young at alarming rates|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/theres-something-terribly-wrong-americans-are-dying-young-at-alarming-rates/2019/11/25/d88b28ec-0d6a-11ea-8397-a955cd542d00_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 19, 2019}}</ref> The U.S. has one of the highest [[Suicide in the United States|suicide]] rates among [[high-income countries]].<ref>{{cite web|date=January 30, 2020|title=New International Report on Health Care: U.S. Suicide Rate Highest Among Wealthy Nations {{!}} Commonwealth Fund|url=https://www.commonwealthfund.org/press-release/2020/new-international-report-health-care-us-suicide-rate-highest-among-wealthy|access-date=March 17, 2020|website=Commonwealthfund.org|language=en}}</ref> Approximately one-third of the U.S. adult population is obese and another third is overweight.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2003–2004|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_adult_03.htm|access-date=June 5, 2007|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics}}</ref> The U.S. healthcare system far [[List of countries by total health expenditure (PPP) per capita|outspends]] that of any other country, measured both in per capita spending and as a percentage of GDP, but attains worse healthcare outcomes when compared to peer countries for reasons that are debated.<ref>{{cite web|year=2001|title=The U.S. Healthcare System: The Best in the World or Just the Most Expensive?|url=https://dll.umaine.edu/ble/U.S.+HCweb.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/20070309142240/https://dll.umaine.edu:80/ble/U.S.%20HCweb.pdf|archive-date=March 9, 2007|access-date=November 29, 2006|publisher=University of Maine}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The United States is the only developed country [[Healthcare reform in the United States|without a system of universal healthcare]], and a [[Health insurance coverage in the United States|significant proportion of the population that does not carry health insurance]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Vladeck|first=Bruce|title=Universal Health Insurance in the United States: Reflections on the Past, the Present, and the Future|date=January 2003|volume=93|number=1|pages=16–19|pmid=12511377|doi=10.2105/ajph.93.1.16|journal=[[American Journal of Public Health]]|pmc=1447684 }}</ref> Government-funded healthcare coverage for the poor ([[Medicaid]]) and for those age 65 and older ([[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]]) is available to Americans who meet the programs' income or age qualifications. In 2010, former President Obama passed the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]].{{efn|Also known less formally as Obamacare}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Oberlander|first=Jonathan|date=June 1, 2010| title=Long Time Coming: Why Health Reform Finally Passed|journal=Health Affairs|language=en|volume=29|issue=6|pages=1112–1116|doi=10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0447| pmid=20530339|issn=0278-2715|doi-access=free}}</ref> === Education === {{Main|Education in the United States|Higher education in the United States}} [[File:University-of-Virginia-Rotunda.jpg|thumb|The [[University of Virginia]], founded by [[Thomas Jefferson]] in 1819, is one of many public colleges and universities in the United States.|alt=Photograph of the University of Virginia]] American primary and secondary education (known in the U.S. as [[K–12 education in the United States|K-12]], "kindergarten through 12th grade") is decentralized. It is operated by state, territorial, and sometimes municipal governments and regulated by the [[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]]. In general, children are required to attend school or an approved [[Homeschooling in the United States|homeschool]] from the age of five or six ([[kindergarten]] or [[first grade]]) until they are 18 years old. This often brings students through the [[twelfth grade|12th grade]], the final year of a U.S. high school, but some states and territories allow them to leave school earlier, at age 16 or 17.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/dt150.asp|title=Ages for Compulsory School Attendance ...|access-date=June 10, 2007|publisher=U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics}}</ref> The U.S. spends more on education per student than any country in the world,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rushe|first=Dominic|date=September 7, 2018|title=The US spends more on education than other countries. Why is it falling behind?|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/07/us-education-spending-finland-south-korea|access-date=August 29, 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> an average of $12,794 per year per public elementary and secondary school student in 2016–2017.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 2020|title=Fast Facts: Expenditures|url=https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66|access-date=August 29, 2020|website=nces.ed.gov|language=EN}}</ref> Among Americans age 25 and older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a [[bachelor's degree]], and 9.6% earned a graduate degree.<ref>{{cite web|title=Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p20-550.pdf|access-date=August 1, 2006|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref> The U.S. [[Literacy in the United States|literacy rate]] is near-universal.<ref name="WF" /><ref>For more detail on U.S. literacy, see [https://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/PDF/2006470.PDF A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st century], U.S. Department of Education (2003).</ref> The country has the most [[List of Nobel laureates by country|Nobel Prize winners]] in history, with 411 (having won 413 awards).<ref>{{Cite web |title=All Nobel Prizes |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes |publisher=Nobel Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2022–2023 Best Global Universities Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings |access-date=April 27, 2023 |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref> [[Higher education in the United States|U.S. tertiary or higher education]] has earned a global reputation. Many of the world's top universities, as listed by various ranking organizations, are in the United States, including 19 of the top 25.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fink |first=Jenni |date=October 22, 2019 |title=U.S. Schools Take 8 of 10 Top Spots on U.S. News' Best Global Universities |url=https://www.newsweek.com/us-news-best-global-universities-american-schools-dominate-top-10-1466768 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 19, 2023 |title=Best Countries for Education: North American and European countries are seen as offering the best opportunities for education. |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/best-countries-for-education |website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref> American higher education is dominated by [[state university system]]s, although the country's many [[Private university|private universities and colleges]] enroll about 20% of all American students. Large amounts of [[Student financial aid in the United States|federal financial aid]] are provided to students in the form of grants and loans. Colleges and universities directly funded by the federal government are limited to military personnel and government employees and include the [[United States service academies|U.S. service academies]], the [[Naval Postgraduate School]], and [[US military staff colleges|military staff colleges]]. Local [[community college]]s generally offer coursework and degree programs covering the first two years of college study. They often have more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pannoni|first1=Alexandra|last2=Kerr|first2=Emma|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/articles/2015/02/06/frequently-asked-questions-community-college|title=Everything You Need to Know About Community Colleges: FAQ|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|date=July 14, 2020|access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> As for [[public expenditure]]s on higher education, the U.S. spends more per student than the [[OECD]] average, and more than all nations in combined public and private spending.<ref name="education spending">{{cite news|date=June 25, 2013|title=U.S. education spending tops global list, study shows|publisher=CBS|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57590921/u.s-education-spending-tops-global-list-study-shows/|access-date=October 5, 2013}}</ref> Despite some student [[loan forgiveness]] programs in place,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Biden administration cancelled $9.5B in student loan debt. Here's who it affects. |url=https://usafacts.org/articles/the-biden-administration-cancelled-95b-in-student-loan-debt-heres-who-it-affects/ |access-date=July 15, 2022 |website=USAFacts |language=en}}</ref> [[Student debt|student loan debt]] has increased by 102% in the last decade,<ref>{{cite news|last=Hess|first=Abigail Johnson|date=December 22, 2020|title=U.S. student debt has increased by more than 100% over the past 10 years|publisher=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/22/us-student-debt-has-increased-by-more-than-100percent-over-past-10-years.html|access-date=January 8, 2022}}</ref> and exceeded 1.7 trillion dollars as of 2022.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dickler|first1=Jessica|last2=Nova|first2=Annie|date=May 6, 2022|title=This is how student loan debt became a $1.7 trillion crisis|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/this-is-how-student-loan-debt-became-a-1point7-trillion-crisis.html|publisher=CNBC|access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref> == Culture and society == {{Main|Culture of the United States|Society of the United States}} [[File:Liberty02.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Statue of Liberty]] (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') on [[Liberty Island]] in [[New York Harbor]] was an 1866 gift from France that has become an iconic symbol of the [[American Dream]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Statue of Liberty| website=World Heritage| publisher=UNESCO| url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/307| access-date = January 4, 2022}}</ref>|alt=The Statue of Liberty, a large teal bronze sculpture on a stone pedestal]] Americans have traditionally [[Stereotypes of Americans|been characterized]] by a unifying political belief in an "[[American civil religion|American creed]]" emphasizing liberty, [[equality under the law]], democracy, [[social equality]], [[property rights]], and a preference for [[limited government]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Huntington |first=Samuel P. |url=https://archive.org/details/whoarewechalleng00hunt |title=Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-684-87053-3 |chapter=Chapters 2–4 |author-link=Samuel P. Huntington |access-date=October 25, 2015 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6xiYiybkE8kC&q=core}}: see [[American Creed]], written by [[William Tyler Page]] and adopted by Congress in 1918.</ref><ref>Hoeveler, J. David, ''Creating the American Mind: Intellect and Politics in the Colonial Colleges'', Rowman & Littlefield, {{ISBN|978-0742548398}}, 2007, p. xi</ref> Culturally, the country has been described as having the values of [[individualism]] and [[Left-libertarianism#Personal autonomy|personal autonomy]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grabb |first1=Edward |last2=Baer |first2=Douglas |last3=Curtis |first3=James |year=1999 |title=The Origins of American Individualism: Reconsidering the Historical Evidence |journal=[[Canadian Journal of Sociology]] |publisher=[[University of Alberta]] |volume=24 |pages=511–533 |doi=10.2307/3341789 |issn=0318-6431 |jstor=3341789 |number=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Marsh |first=Abigail |date=May 26, 2021 |title=Everyone Thinks Americans Are Selfish. They're Wrong. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/opinion/individualism-united-states-altruism.html |access-date=July 16, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> having a strong [[work ethic]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Porter |first=Gayle |date=November 2010 |title=Work Ethic and Ethical Work: Distortions in the American Dream |journal=[[Journal of Business Ethics]] |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |volume=96 |pages=535–550 |doi=10.1007/s10551-010-0481-6 |jstor=29789736 |s2cid=143991044 |number=4}}</ref> [[Competition|competitiveness]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stephens |first=R.H. |date=September 1952 |title=The Role Of Competition In American Life |journal=[[The Australian Quarterly]] |publisher=[[Australian Institute of Policy and Science]] |volume=24 |pages=9–14 |jstor=41317686 |number=3}}</ref> and voluntary [[altruism]] towards others.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 9, 2022|url=https://good2give.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-CAF-World-Giving-Index.pdf |title=World Giving Index 2022 |website=[[Charities Aid Foundation]] |access-date=April 27, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Country-level estimates of altruism |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cross-country-variation-in-altruism |access-date=March 14, 2023 |website=Our World in Data}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marsh |first=Abigail |date=February 5, 2018 |title=Could A More Individualistic World Also Be A More Altruistic One? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2018/02/05/581873428/could-a-more-individualistic-world-also-be-a-more-altruistic-one |access-date=March 14, 2023 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref> According to a 2016 study by the [[Charities Aid Foundation]], Americans donated 1.44% of total GDP to charity, the [[List of countries by charitable donation|highest rate]] in the world by a large margin.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 2016 |title=GROSS DOMESTIC PHILANTHROPY: An international analysis of GDP, tax and giving |url=https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-policy-and-campaigns/gross-domestic-philanthropy-feb-2016.pdf |access-date=July 18, 2022 |publisher=[[Charities Aid Foundation]]}}</ref> The United States is home to a [[Multiculturalism|wide variety of]] ethnic groups, traditions, and values. It has acquired [[Americanization|significant cultural]] and economic [[soft power]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Berghahn |first=Volker R. |date=February 1, 2010 |title=The debate on 'Americanization' among economic and cultural historians |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14682740903388566 |journal=Cold War History |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=107–130 |doi=10.1080/14682740903388566 |s2cid=144459911 |issn=1468-2745}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Fergie |first1=Dexter |date=March 24, 2022 |title=How American Culture Ate the World |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/165836/american-culture-ate-world-righteous-smokescreen-globalization-review |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583 |access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref> Nearly all present Americans or their ancestors came from [[Afro-Eurasia|Europe, Africa, and Asia]] ("the [[Old World]]") within the past five centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fiorina|first1=Morris P.|author-link1=Morris P. Fiorina|last2=Peterson|first2=Paul E.|title=The New American democracy|date=2010|publisher=Longman|location=London|isbn=978-0-205-78016-7|page=97|edition=7th}}</ref> [[wikt:mainstream|Mainstream]] American culture is a [[Western culture]] largely derived from the [[European American#Culture|traditions of European immigrants]] with influences from many other sources, such as [[African-American culture|traditions brought by slaves from Africa]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holloway|first1=Joseph E.|title=Africanisms in American culture|date=2005|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=978-0-253-21749-3|pages=18–38|edition=2nd}}<br />{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Fern L.|title=Speaking culturally : language diversity in the United States|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=978-0-8039-5912-5|page=116|year=2000 }}</ref> More recent immigration from [[Asian American|Asia]] and especially [[Latin American culture|Latin America]] has added to a cultural mix that has been described as a homogenizing [[melting pot]], and a heterogeneous [[salad bowl (cultural idea)|salad bowl]], with immigrants contributing to, and often [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilating]] into, mainstream American culture. The [[American Dream]], or the perception that Americans enjoy high [[Socio-economic mobility in the United States|social mobility]], plays a key role in attracting immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gallup.com/poll/161435/100-million-worldwide-dream-life.aspx|title=More Than 100 Million Worldwide Dream of a Life in the U.S. More than 25% in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Dominican Republic want to move to the U.S.|last=Clifton|first=Jon|date=March 21, 2013|publisher=Gallup|access-date=January 10, 2014}}</ref> Whether this perception is accurate has been a topic of debate.<ref name="socialmobility">{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/tax/public-finance/chapter%205%20gfg%202010.pdf|title=A Family Affair: Intergenerational Social Mobility across OECD Countries|website=Economic Policy Reforms: Going for Growth|publisher=OECD|year=2010|access-date=September 20, 2010}}</ref><ref name="CAP">{{cite web|title=Understanding Mobility in America|url=https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2006/04/26/1917/understanding-mobility-in-america/|website=Center for American Progress|date=April 26, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Gould|first1=Elise|title=U.S. lags behind peer countries in mobility|url=https://www.epi.org/publication/usa-lags-peer-countries-mobility/|website=[[Economic Policy Institute]]|access-date=July 15, 2013|date=October 10, 2012}}</ref> While mainstream culture holds that the United States is a [[classless society]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Gutfeld|first=Amon|year=2002|title=American Exceptionalism: The Effects of Plenty on the American Experience|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|location=Brighton and Portland|page=65|isbn=978-1-903900-08-6}}</ref> scholars identify significant differences between [[Social class in the United States|the country's social classes]], affecting [[socialization]], language, and values.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zweig|first=Michael|year=2004|title=What's Class Got To Do With It, American Society in the Twenty-First Century|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, NY|isbn=978-0-8014-8899-3}} {{cite web|url=https://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED309843&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b800472a5|title=Effects of Social Class and Interactive Setting on Maternal Speech|publisher=Education Resource Information Center|access-date=January 27, 2007}}</ref> Americans tend to greatly value [[socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] achievement, but being [[Average Joe|ordinary or average]] is promoted by some as a noble condition as well.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Keefe|first=Kevin|year=2005|title=The Average American|publisher=PublicAffairs|location=New York|isbn=978-1-58648-270-1|url=https://archive.org/details/averageamericant00okee }}</ref> The United States is considered to have the [[Freedom of speech in the United States|strongest protections of free speech of any country]] under the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Coleman |first=Gabriella |title=Coding Freedom |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-691-14461-0 |pages=10, 201 |author-link=Gabriella Coleman}}</ref> which protects [[Flag desecration in the United States|flag desecration]], [[Hate speech in the United States|hate speech]], [[Blasphemy law in the United States|blasphemy]], and [[Lèse-majesté|lese-majesty]] as forms of protected expression.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 19, 2012 |title=Held Dear In U.S., Free Speech Perplexing Abroad |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/09/19/161439562/held-dear-in-u-s-free-speech-perplexing-abroad |access-date=March 4, 2023 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Liptak |first=Adam |date=June 11, 2008 |title=Hate speech or free speech? What much of West bans is protected in U.S. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/world/americas/11iht-hate.4.13645369.html |url-access=limited |access-date=February 21, 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Durkee |first=Alison |date=April 25, 2018 |title=What if we didn't... have the First Amendment? |url=https://www.mic.com/articles/188402/what-if-we-didnt-have-the-first-amendment |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=Mic |language=en}}</ref> A 2016 [[Pew Research Center]] poll found that Americans were the most supportive of free expression of any polity measured.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wike |first=Richard |title=Americans more tolerant of offensive speech than others in the world |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/12/americans-more-tolerant-of-offensive-speech-than-others-in-the-world/ |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> They are the "most supportive of [[Freedom of the press in the United States|freedom of the press]] and the [[Right to Internet access|right to use the Internet]] without government censorship."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Alex |date=November 8, 2016 |title=Freedom of speech: which country has the most? |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/11/freedom-of-speech-country-comparison/ |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en}}</ref> It is a [[Cultural liberalism|socially progressive]] country<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norris |first=Pippa |author-link=Pippa Norris |date=February 2023 |title=Cancel Culture: Myth or Reality? |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00323217211037023 |journal=Political Studies |language=en |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=145–174 |doi=10.1177/00323217211037023 |s2cid=238647612 |issn=0032-3217 |quote=As predicted, in post-industrial societies, characterized by predominately liberal social cultures, like the US, Sweden, and UK...}}</ref> with [[Permissive society|permissive]] attitudes surrounding [[human sexuality]].<ref name="Derks-2020">{{Cite book |last1=Derks |first1=Marco |title=Public Discourses About Homosexuality and Religion in Europe and Beyond |last2=van den Berg |first2=Mariecke |publisher=[[Springer International Publishing]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-56326-4 |pages=338 |quote=...(the United States and [Western] Europe) as "already in crisis" for their permissive attitudes toward nonnormative sexualities...}}</ref> [[LGBT rights in the United States]] are advanced by global standards.<ref name="Derks-2020" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leveille |first=Dan |date=December 4, 2009 |title=LGBT Equality Index: The most LGBT-friendly countries in the world |url=https://www.equaldex.com/equality-index |access-date=January 26, 2023 |website=[[Equaldex]] |quote=13.) United States}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Garretson |first=Jeremiah |title=The Path to Gay Rights: How Activism and Coming Out Changed Public Opinion |publisher=[[New York University Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4798-5007-5 |page= |chapter=A Transformed Society: LGBT Rights in the United States |quote=In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a dramatic wave began to form in the waters of public opinion: American attitudes involving homosexuality began to change... The transformation of America's response to homosexuality has been — and continues to be — one of the most rapid and sustained shifts in mass attitudes since the start of public polling.}}</ref> === Literature === {{Main|American literature|American philosophy}} {{see also|List of American novelists}} [[File:Mark Twain by AF Bradley.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mark Twain]], who [[William Faulkner]] called "the father of [[American literature]]"<ref name="faulkner">{{cite book |last=Jelliffe |first=Robert A. |title=Faulkner at Nagano |year=1956 |publisher=Kenkyusha, Ltd |location=Tokyo}}</ref>|alt=Photograph of Mark Twain]] Colonial American authors were influenced by [[John Locke]] and various other Enlightenment philosophers.{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|pp=157-159}}{{sfn|Lauter|1994a|pp=503-509}} Before and shortly after the Revolutionary War, the newspaper rose to prominence, filling a demand for anti-British national literature.{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|p=163}}<ref>Mulford, Carla. [https://archive.org/details/heathanthologyof00v1unse_e3d7/page/705/mode/1up "Enlightenment Voices, Revolutionary Visions."] In {{harvnb|Lauter|1994a|pp=705–707}}.</ref> Led by [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] and [[Margaret Fuller]] in New England,{{sfn|Lauter|1994a|pp=1228-1229}} [[transcendentalism]] branched from [[Unitarianism]] as the first major [[American philosophy|American philosophical movement]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Finseth|first1=Ian Frederick|title=The Emergence of Transcendentalism|url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma95/finseth/trans.html|website= American Studies @ The University of Virginia|publisher=[[The University of Virginia]]|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718205554/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA95/finseth/trans.html |archive-date=18 July 2023}}</ref><ref name=Coviello>{{cite book |last=Coviello |first=Peter |chapter=Transcendentalism |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2005 |via=Oxford Reference Online |access-date=23 October 2011 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195156539.001.0001/acref-9780195156539-e-0294?rskey=lw57LH&result=1 |isbn=9780195307726}}</ref> During the nineteenth-century [[American Renaissance (literature)|American Renaissance]], writers like [[Walt Whitman]] and [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] established a distinctive American literary tradition.{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|pp=444-447}}{{sfn|Lauter|1994a|pp=1228, 1233, 1260}} As literacy rates rose, periodicals published more stories centered around industrial workers, women, and the rural poor.{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|pp=1269-1270}}{{sfn|Lauter|1994b|pp=8-10}} [[Naturalism (literature)|Naturalism]], [[American literary regionalism|regionalism]], and [[Literary realism#UnitedStates|realism]]—the latter associated with [[Mark Twain]]—were the major literary movements of the period.{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|pp=1271-1273}}{{sfn|Lauter|1994b|p=12}} While [[Literary modernism|modernism]] generally took on an international character, modernist authors working within the United States more often rooted their work in specific regions, peoples, and cultures.{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|pp=1850-1851}} Following the Great Migration to northern cities, African-American and black [[West Indian Americans|West Indian]] authors of the [[Harlem Renaissance]] developed an independent tradition of literature that rebuked a history of inequality and celebrated black culture. An important cultural export during the [[Jazz Age]], these writings were a key influence on the [[négritude]] philosophy.<ref>[[Hortense Spillers|Spillers, Hortense]]. [https://archive.org/details/heathanthologyof02laut/page/1579 "The New Negro Renaissance."] In {{harvnb|Lauter|1994b|pp=1579–1585}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Philipson |first=Robert |title=The Harlem Renaissance as Postcolonial Phenomenon |journal=African American Review |volume=40 |issue=1 |year=2006 |pages=145–160 |jstor=40027037}}</ref> In the 1950s, an ideal of homogeneity led many authors to attempt to write the [[Great American Novel]],{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|pp=2260-2261}} while the [[Beat Generation]] rejected this conformity, using styles that elevated the impact of the [[spoken word]] over mechanics to describe drug use, sexuality, and the failings of society.{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|p=2262}}<ref>{{harvnb|Lauter|1994b|pp=1975–1977}}. "[https://archive.org/details/heathanthologyof02laut/page/1972 Literature of the Cold War]".</ref> Contemporary literature is more pluralistic than in previous eras, with the closest thing to a unifying feature being a trend toward self-conscious [[Experimental literature|experiments with language]].{{sfn|Baym|Levine|2013|pp=2266-2267}} === Mass media === {{further|Mass media in the United States}} {{See also|Newspapers in the United States|Television in the United States|Internet in the United States|Radio in the United States|Video games in the United States}} [[File:Buildings in Philadelphia - IMG 7505.JPG|upright|thumb|[[Comcast Center]] in [[Philadelphia]], headquarters of [[Comcast]], the world's largest telecommunications and media conglomerate]] Media is [[Censorship in the United States|broadly uncensored]], with the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] providing significant protections, as reiterated in ''[[New York Times Co. v. United States]]''.<ref name=":0" /> The four major broadcasters in the U.S. are the [[National Broadcasting Company]] (NBC), [[Columbia Broadcasting System]] (CBS), [[American Broadcasting Company]] (ABC), and [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] (FOX). The four major broadcast television networks are all commercial entities. [[Cable television in the United States|Cable television]] offers hundreds of channels catering to a variety of niches.<ref>{{cite news|title=Streaming TV Services: What They Cost, What You Get|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/12/business/ap-us-streaming-tv-options.html|access-date=October 12, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|agency=Associated Press|date=October 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015023520/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/10/12/business/ap-us-streaming-tv-options.html|archive-date=October 15, 2015}}</ref> {{as of|2021}}, about 83% of Americans over age 12 listen to [[radio broadcasting|broadcast radio]], while about 40% listen to [[podcast]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/audio-and-podcasting/|title=Audio and Podcasting Fact Sheet|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|location=Washington, D.C.|date=June 29, 2021|access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref> {{As of|2020}}, there were 15,460 licensed full-power radio stations in the U.S. according to the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-367270A1.pdf|title=BROADCAST STATION TOTALS AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2020}}</ref> Much of the public radio broadcasting is supplied by [[NPR]], incorporated in February 1970 under the [[Public Broadcasting Act of 1967]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 20, 2013|title=History: NPR|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/about-npr/192827079/overview-and-history|access-date=May 5, 2021}}</ref> U.S. newspapers with a global reach and reputation include ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Washington Post]]'', and ''[[USA Today]]''.<ref name="Shaffer2006">{{cite book|first=Brenda|last=Shaffer|title=The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEOd-cDWVwQC&pg=PA116|year=2006|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-19529-4|page=116}}</ref> About 800 publications are produced in Spanish.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spanish Newspapers in United States|url=https://www.w3newspapers.com/usa/spanish|access-date=August 5, 2014|publisher=W3newspapers}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Spanish Language Newspapers in the USA : Hispanic Newspapers : Periódiscos en Español en los EE.UU|url=https://www.onlinenewspapers.com/usstate/spanish-language-newspapers-usa.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626114455/https://www.onlinenewspapers.com/usstate/spanish-language-newspapers-usa.htm|archive-date=June 26, 2014|access-date=August 5, 2014|publisher=Onlinenewspapers.com}}</ref> With few exceptions, newspapers are privately owned, either by large chains such as [[Gannett Company|Gannett]] or [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy]], which own dozens or even hundreds of newspapers; by small chains that own a handful of papers; or, in a situation that is increasingly rare, by individuals or families. Major cities often have [[alternative newspaper]]s to complement the mainstream daily papers, such as ''[[The Village Voice]]'' in New York City and ''[[LA Weekly]]'' in Los Angeles. The five most popular websites used in the U.S. are Google, YouTube, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], [[Yahoo]], and Facebook, with all of them being American companies.<ref name="alexa-topsitesus">{{cite web|year=2021|title=Top Sites in United States|url=https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US|access-date=October 6, 2021|publisher=Alexa|archive-date=June 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621221154/https://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, the video game market of the United States is the world's [[List of video games markets by country|largest by revenue]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Top countries and markets by video game revenues|url=https://newzoo.com/resources/rankings/top-10-countries-by-game-revenues |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326135814/https://newzoo.com/resources/rankings/top-10-countries-by-game-revenues |archive-date=2023-03-26|access-date=6 October 2023|website=Newzoo}}</ref> There are 444 publishers, developers, and hardware companies in California alone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=California (CA) |url=https://www.theesa.com/video-game-impact-map/state/california/ |access-date=December 14, 2022 |website=ESA Impact Map |date=July 20, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> === Theater === {{Main|Theater in the United States}} [[File:Broadway_Theaters_45th_Street_Night.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Broadway theatre]]s in [[Theater District, Manhattan]]]] The United States is well known for its cinema and theater. Mainstream theater in the United States derives from the old European theatrical tradition and has been heavily influenced by the [[Theatre of the United Kingdom|British theater]].<ref name="Saxon2011">{{cite book| first = Theresa| last = Saxon| date = October 11, 2011| title = American Theatre: History, Context, Form| publisher = Edinburgh University Press| pages = 7–| isbn = 978-0-7486-3127-8| oclc = 1162047055| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2-AkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref> By the middle of the 19th century America had created new distinct dramatic forms in the [[Tom Shows]], the [[showboat|showboat theater]] and the [[minstrel show]].<ref>Meserve, Walter J. An Outline History of American Drama, New York: Feedback/Prospero, 1994.</ref> The central [[Theater District, Manhattan|hub of the American theater scene is Manhattan]], with its divisions of [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], [[off-Broadway]], and [[off-off-Broadway]].<ref name="LondréWatermeier1998">{{cite book| first1 = Felicia Hardison | last1 = Londré| first2 = Daniel J.| last2 = Watermeier| date = 1998| title = The History of North American Theater: From Pre-Columbian Times to the Present| publisher = Continuum| pages =| isbn = 978-0-8264-1079-5| oclc = 1024855967}}</ref> Many movie and television [[Celebrity|stars]] have gotten their big break working in New York productions. Outside New York City, many cities have professional [[Regional theater in the United States|regional or resident theater companies]] that produce their own seasons. The biggest-budget theatrical productions are musicals. U.S. theater has an active [[community theater]] culture.<ref>Stephen Watt, and Gary A. Richardson, ''American Drama: Colonial to Contemporary'' (1994).</ref> The [[Tony Awards]] recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre and are presented at an annual ceremony in [[Manhattan]]. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for [[Regional theatre in the United States|regional theatre]]. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including a [[Special Tony Award]], the [[Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre]], and the [[Isabelle Stevenson Award]].<ref>Staff (undated). [http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/about/index.html "Who's Who"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223002914/http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/about/index.html|date=December 23, 2016}}. tonyawards.com. Retrieved September 13, 2013.</ref> === Visual arts === {{Main|Visual art of the United States|Architecture of the United States}} [[File:Grant_Wood_-_American_Gothic_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[American Gothic]]'' (1930) by [[Grant Wood]] is one of the most famous [[Visual art of the United States|American paintings]] and is widely [[parody|parodied]].<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170208-how-american-gothic-became-an-icon|title=How American Gothic became an icon|first=Fisun|last=Güner|date=8 February 2017|publisher=BBC|access-date=2 March 2017}}</ref>]] In the visual arts, the [[Hudson River School]] was a mid-19th-century movement in the tradition of European [[Realism (arts)|naturalism]]. The 1913 [[Armory Show]] in New York City, an exhibition of European [[modern art|modernist art]], shocked the public and transformed the U.S. art scene.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Milton W.|title=The Story of the Armory Show|date=1963|publisher=Abbeville Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-89659-795-2|edition=2nd|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofarmorysho00brow }}</ref> [[Georgia O'Keeffe]], [[Marsden Hartley]], and others experimented with new and individualistic styles, which would become known as [[American modernism]]. Major artistic movements such as the [[abstract expressionism]] of [[Jackson Pollock]] and [[Willem de Kooning]] and the [[pop art]] of [[Andy Warhol]] and [[Roy Lichtenstein]] developed largely in the United States. Major photographers include [[Alfred Stieglitz]], [[Edward Steichen]], [[Dorothea Lange]], [[Edward Weston]], [[James Van Der Zee]], [[Ansel Adams]], and [[Gordon Parks]].<ref name="Davenport1991">{{cite book|last=Davenport|first=Alma|title=The History of Photography: An Overview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hca5H_rJZnUC&pg=PA67|year=1991|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-2076-6|page=67}}</ref> The tide of [[modernism]] and then [[postmodernism]] has brought global fame to American architects, including [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Philip Johnson]], and [[Frank Gehry]].<ref name="JansonJanson2003">{{cite book|last1=Janson|first1=Horst Woldemar|last2=Janson|first2=Anthony F.|title=History of Art: The Western Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMYHuvhWBH4C&pg=PT955|year=2003|publisher=Prentice Hall Professional|isbn=978-0-13-182895-7|page=955}}</ref> The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in [[Manhattan]] is the largest [[art museum]] in the United States.<ref name=METLargestArtMuseum>{{cite news|author=Alfred Lester|date=December 6, 1993|title=Letter: The Louvre: tourism on the grand scale|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/letter-the-louvre-tourism-on-the-grand-scale-1465736.html|access-date=December 2, 2023}}</ref> === Music === <!---Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries. Caution should be taken to ensure that the section is not simply a listing of names or mini biographies.--> {{Main|Music of the United States}} [[American folk music]] encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional [[folk music]], contemporary folk music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the same family or folk group for generations, and sometimes trace back to such origins as the [[British Isles]], [[Mainland Europe]], or [[African-American music|Africa]].<ref name=afc>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/folklife/guide/folkmusicandsong.html|title=Folk Music and Song: American Folklife Center: An Illustrated Guide (Library of Congress)|website=Loc.gov}}</ref> The rhythmic and lyrical styles of African-American music in particular have influenced American music.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 22, 2016 |title=Musical Crossroads: African American Influence on American Music |url=https://music.si.edu/story/musical-crossroads |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website=Smithsonian}}</ref> [[Banjo]]s were brought to America through the slave trade. [[Minstrel show]]s incorporating the instrument into their acts led to its increased popularity and widespread production in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Folk, the Stage, and the Five-String Banjo in the Nineteenth Century |first=Robert B. |last=Winans |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |year=1976 |volume=89 |issue=354 | pages=407–437 |publisher=American Folklore Society |doi=10.2307/539294 |jstor=539294 }}</ref>{{sfn|Shi|2016|p=378}} The [[electric guitar]], first invented in the 1930s, and mass-produced by the 1940s, had an enormous influence on popular music, in particular due to the development of [[rock and roll]].<ref name="axe">{{cite web|title=The Invention of the Electric Guitar |date=April 18, 2014 |url=https://invention.si.edu/invention-electric-guitar |website=Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation |publisher=Smithsonian Institute}}</ref> [[File:Country music hall of fame2.jpg|thumb|The [[Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]]] Elements from folk idioms such as the [[blues]] and [[old-time music]] were adopted and transformed into [[popular music|popular genres]] with global audiences. [[Jazz]] grew from blues and [[ragtime]] in the early 20th century, developing from the innovations and recordings of composers such as [[W.C. Handy]] and [[Jelly Roll Morton]]. [[Louis Armstrong]] and [[Duke Ellington]] increased its popularity early in the 20th century.<ref name="Biddle-2001">{{cite book|last1=Biddle|first1=Julian|title=What Was Hot!: Five Decades of Pop Culture in America|date=2001|publisher=Citadel|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8065-2311-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/whatwashotroller00bidd/page/ ix]|url=https://archive.org/details/whatwashotroller00bidd/page/ }}</ref> [[Country music]] developed in the 1920s,<ref>{{Cite web|website=OUP blog |title=Early blues and country music |last=Stoia |first=Nicholas |date=October 21, 2014 |url=https://blog.oup.com/2014/10/early-blues-country-music/ |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> rock and roll in the 1930s,<ref name="axe" /> and [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Bluegrass music |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/bluegrass-music |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=19 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref> and [[rhythm and blues]] in the 1940s.{{sfn|OpenStax|2014|loc=§ [https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/28-4-popular-culture-and-mass-media 28.4]}} In the 1960s, [[Bob Dylan]] emerged from the [[American folk music revival|folk revival]] to become one of the country's most celebrated songwriters.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=April 10, 2020 |title=No. 1 Bob Dylan |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/interactive/lists-100-greatest-songwriters/#bob-dylan |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=January 29, 2021}}</ref> The musical forms of [[Punk rock|punk]] and [[hip hop]] both originated in the United States in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/artandmusicbiographies/chapter/reading-9-neo-expressionism-and-music-reaching-into-the-1980s/|title=A Quick and Dirty Guide to Art, Music, and Culture|author=Clayton Funk|chapter=9. Neo-Expressionism, Punk, and Hip Hop Emerge|publisher=The Ohio State University|date=August 16, 2016}}</ref> The United States has the world's [[List of largest recorded music markets|largest music market]] with a total retail value of $15.9 billion in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Year-End Music Industry Revenue Report |url=https://www.riaa.com/reports/2022-year-end-music-industry-revenue-report-riaa/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |publisher=Record Industry Association of America |language=en-US}}</ref> Most of the world's [[Record label#Major labels|major record companies]] are based in the U.S.; they are represented by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).<ref>{{cite web |author=Eoin Hennessy |date=March 27, 2014 |title=How American Music Took Over the World |url=https://universitytimes.ie/2014/03/how-american-music-took-over-the-world/ |access-date=April 28, 2023 |website=[[The University Times]]}}</ref> Mid-20th-century American [[Popular music|pop stars]], such as [[Frank Sinatra]]<ref>{{cite web|date=December 8, 2015|title=10 ways that Frank Sinatra changed the world|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/12/08/10-ways-frank-sinatra-changed-world/76381754/|access-date=June 24, 2021|website=USA Today}}</ref> and [[Elvis Presley]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-universal-music-elvis-idCAKCN2M40UH|title=Universal Music can't help falling for Elvis Presley, to manage song catalog|date=April 12, 2022|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=April 12, 2022}}</ref> became [[Superstar|global celebrities]] and [[List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music artists]],<ref name="Biddle-2001" /> as have artists of the late 20th century, such as [[Michael Jackson]],<ref name="RIAA">{{cite web|title= Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' First Ever 30X Multi-Platinum RIAA Certification |date= December 16, 2015 |access-date= December 17, 2021 |publisher= Recording Industry Association of America |url= https://www.riaa.com/michael-jacksons-thriller-first-ever-30x-multi-platinum-riaa-certification/}}</ref> [[Madonna]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-08-17/madonna-has-been-scandalizing-people-for-40-years-and-nobodys-going-to-stop-her.html|title=Madonna has been scandalizing people for 40 years, and nobody's going to stop her|date=August 17, 2022|first=Carlos|last=Marcos|work=[[El País]]|access-date=August 17, 2022}}</ref> [[Whitney Houston]],<ref name=":172">{{cite magazine |date=January 1, 2023 |title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/whitney-houston-11-1234643211/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=January 2, 2023}}</ref> and [[Prince (musician)|Prince]],<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite magazine |date=April 28, 2016 |title=Prince Tribute: The Greatest Musical Talent of His Generation |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/magazine-feature/7348527/prince-tribute-greatest-musical-talent-of-his-generation |magazine=Billboard |access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref> and of early 21st century such as [[Taylor Swift]] and [[Beyoncé]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/taylor-swift-and-beyonce-reporters-wanted-by-biggest-newspaper-chain-in-us-12960828|title=Taylor Swift and Beyoncé reporters wanted by biggest newspaper chain in US|publisher=[[Sky News]]|date=September 14, 2023|access-date=November 8, 2023|archive-date=November 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109015600/https://news.sky.com/story/taylor-swift-and-beyonce-reporters-wanted-by-biggest-newspaper-chain-in-us-12960828|url-status=live}}</ref> === Fashion === {{main|Fashion in the United States}} [[File:Carolina Herrera AW14 12.jpg|thumb|[[Haute couture]] [[fashion model]]s on the [[catwalk]] during [[New York Fashion Week]]]] The United States and China collectively account for the majority of global [[apparel]] demand. Apart from professional [[business attire]], American fashion is eclectic and predominantly informal. While Americans' diverse cultural roots are reflected in their clothing, [[sneaker]]s, [[jeans]], T-shirts, and [[baseball cap]]s are emblematic of American styles.<ref name=AmericanClassicFashion>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/01/style/american-style-classics/|title= American Classics How seven everyday clothing items became American style staples.|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=December 4, 2023}}</ref> New York is considered to be one of the "big four" global [[fashion capital]]s, along with Paris, [[Milan]], and London. A study demonstrated that general proximity to [[Garment District, Manhattan|Manhattan's Garment District]] has been synonymous with American fashion since its inception in the early 20th century.<ref name=GarmentDistrictNYCFashionSymbolUS>{{cite web|title=Made In New York: The Future Of New York City's Historic Garment District|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johncaplan/2021/09/01/made-in-new-york-the-future-of-new-york-citys-historic-garment-district/amp/|author=John Caplin|work=[[Forbes]]|date=September 1, 2021|access-date=December 5, 2023|quote=Spanning just about 20 square blocks between [[Times Square]] and [[Penn Station (New York)|Penn Station]] along [[Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)|Seventh Avenue]] (also known as "Fashion Avenue"), the vibrant and always-busy neighborhood has a long and rich history that has become synonymous with American fashion since its inception more than a century ago.}}</ref> The headquarters of many [[designer label]]s reside in [[Manhattan]]. Labels cater to [[niche market]]s, such as pre teens. There has been a trend in the United States fashion towards [[sustainable clothing]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-09 |title=Beyond Trends: The Lasting Impact of Sustainable Fashion in the USA |url=https://usaclothingmanufacturers.medium.com/beyond-trends-the-lasting-impact-of-sustainable-fashion-in-the-usa-b97e20a229f7 |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref> [[New York Fashion Week]] is one of the most influential fashion weeks in the world, and occurs twice a year.<ref name=USNYCFashionWeekGlobalIndustryTonesetter>{{cite news|title=The Economic Impact of New York Fashion Week|url=https://thefordhamram.com/93053/news/fashion-week/|author=Diana Juarez|newspaper=The Fordham Ram|date=October 4, 2023|access-date=December 5, 2023}}</ref> === Cinema === {{Main|Cinema of the United States}} [[File:Hollywood Sign (Zuschnitt).jpg|thumb|The iconic [[Hollywood Sign]], in the [[Hollywood Hills]], often regarded as the symbol of the [[American film industry]]]] The U.S. film industry has a worldwide influence and following. [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], a district in northern Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city, is also metonymous for the American filmmaking industry, the third-largest in the world, following [[India]] and [[Nigeria]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Annual Report of the Controller of the City of Los Angeles, California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1VbOAAAAMAAJ&q=Hollywood+merged+with+City+of+Los+Angeles+in+1910&pg=PA193|publisher=By[[Office controller|Office of Controller]] Los Angeles, CA (1914)|access-date=February 22, 2014|year = 1914}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Report of the Auditor of the City of Los Angeles California of the Financial Affairs of the Corporation in Its Capacity as a City for the Fiscal Year|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPo2AQAAMAAJ&q=Hollywood+merged+with+City+of+Los+Angeles+in+1910&pg=PA173|publisher=By [[State auditor|Auditor's Office]] of Los Angeles, CA (1913)|access-date=February 22, 2014|year = 1913}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30707|title=Nigeria surpasses Hollywood as world's second-largest film producer|publisher=United Nations|date=May 5, 2009|access-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref> The [[major film studios]] of the United States are the primary source of the [[List of highest-grossing films|most commercially successful]] and most ticket-selling movies in the world.<ref name="Kerrigan_Page_18">{{cite book |last1=Kerrigan |first1=Finola |title=Film Marketing |date=2010 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-7506-8683-9 |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufMdvuuTQ7MC&pg=PA18 |access-date=February 4, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Davis">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Glyn |last2=Dickinson |first2=Kay |last3=Patti |first3=Lisa |last4=Villarejo |first4=Amy |title=Film Studies: A Global Introduction |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon |isbn=978-1-317-62338-0 |page=299 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnXABgAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 |access-date=August 24, 2020}}</ref> Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, although in the 21st century an increasing number of films are not made there, and film companies have been subject to the forces of globalization.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-landis-rails-studios-theyre-659222|title=John Landis Rails Against Studios: 'They're Not in the Movie Business Anymore'|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=January 24, 2015}}</ref> The [[Academy Awards]], popularly known as the Oscars, have been held annually by the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] since 1929,<ref name="DrowneHuber2004">{{cite book |last1=Drowne |first1=Kathleen Morgan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CecCHiI95dYC&pg=PA236 |title=The 1920s |last2=Huber |first2=Patrick |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-313-32013-2 |page=236}}</ref> and the [[Golden Globe Award]]s have been held annually since January 1944.<ref name="Kroon2014">{{cite book |last=Kroon |first=Richard W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjmNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA338 |title=A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms |publisher=McFarland |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7864-5740-3 |page=338}}</ref> The industry enjoyed its golden years, in what is commonly referred to as the "[[Classical Hollywood cinema|Golden Age of Hollywood]]", from the early sound period until the early 1960s,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Matthews|first1=Charles|title=Book explores Hollywood 'Golden Age' of the 1960s-'70s|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-explores-hollywood-golden-age-of-the-1960s-70s/2011/02/10/AGh5xJIH_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 6, 2015|date=June 3, 2011}}</ref> with screen actors such as [[John Wayne]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]] becoming iconic figures.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Banner|first1=Lois|title=Marilyn Monroe, the eternal shape shifter|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/05/opinion/la-oe-0805-banner-marilyn-monroe-icon-biography-20120805|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 6, 2015|date=August 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Rick|first1=Jewell|title=John Wayne, an American Icon|url=https://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15465.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822102812/https://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/15465.html|archive-date=August 22, 2008|publisher=University of Southern California|access-date=August 6, 2015|date=August 8, 2008}}</ref> In the 1970s, "[[New Hollywood]]" or the "Hollywood Renaissance"<ref name="Greven2013">{{cite book|last=Greven|first=David|title=Psycho-Sexual: Male Desire in Hitchcock, De Palma, Scorsese, and Friedkin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIyNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT23|year=2013|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74204-8|page=23}}</ref> was defined by grittier films influenced by French and Italian realist pictures of the [[Aftermath of World War II|post-war period]].<ref name="Morrison1998">{{cite book|last=Morrison|first=James|title=Passport to Hollywood: Hollywood Films, European Directors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWRif68I3igC&pg=PA11|year=1998|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-3938-8|page=11}}</ref> The 21st century was marked by the rise of American streaming platforms, which came to rival traditional cinema.<ref name="RE">{{cite news |last=Seitz|first=Matt Zoller|author-link=Matt Zoller Seitz|title=What's Next: Avengers, MCU, Game of Thrones, and the Content Endgame|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/avengers-mcu-and-the-content-endgame|access-date=July 21, 2021|work=[[RogerEbert.com]]|publisher=Ebert Digital LLC|date=April 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Hannah Avery |title=US streaming market growth continues, despite changes in the industry |url=https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/technology/us-streaming-market-growth-continues-despite-changes-in-the-industry |date=January 18, 2023 |website=[[Kantar Group]] |access-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref> === Cuisine === {{Main|American cuisine}} {{further|List of American regional and fusion cuisines}} [[File:2019-11-28 14 46 15 A single serving of Thanksgiving Dinner in the Parkway Village section of Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|A [[Thanksgiving dinner]] with [[roast turkey]], [[mashed potatoes]], [[pickled cucumber|pickles]], [[corn]], [[candied yams]], [[cranberry jelly]], [[Shrimp and prawn as food|shrimps]], [[stuffing]], [[green peas]], [[deviled eggs]], [[green salad]] and [[apple sauce]]]] Early settlers were introduced by Native Americans to foods such as [[Turkey as food|turkey]], [[sweet potato]]es, [[maize|corn]], [[Cucurbita|squash]], and [[maple syrup]]. Of the most enduring and pervasive examples are variations of the native dish called [[succotash]]. Early settlers and later immigrants combined these with foods they were familiar with, such as [[wheat flour]],<ref name="Wheat">{{cite web|title=Wheat Info|url=https://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011012758/https://www.wheatworld.org/wheat-info/fast-facts/|archive-date=October 11, 2009|website=Wheatworld.org|access-date=January 15, 2015 }}</ref> beef, and milk to create a distinctive American cuisine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Traditional Indigenous Recipes|url=https://aihd.ku.edu/recipes/index.html|publisher=American Indian Health and Diet Project|access-date=September 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Akenuwa|first=Ambrose|title=Is the United States Still the Land of the Free and Home to the Brave?|url=https://books.apple.com/us/book/is-the-united-states-still-the-land-of-the/id1017814038|date=July 1, 2015|pages=92–94|publisher=Lulu Press|isbn=978-1-329-26112-9|access-date=November 20, 2020}}</ref> [[New World crops]], especially [[pumpkin]], corn, [[potatoes]], and turkey as the main course are part of a shared national menu on [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]], when many Americans prepare or purchase traditional dishes to celebrate the occasion.<ref name="Mintz1996">{{cite book|author=Sidney Wilfred Mintz|title=Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excursions Into Eating, Culture, and the Past|url=https://archive.org/details/tastingfoodtasti00mint_0|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=978-0-8070-4629-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tastingfoodtasti00mint_0/page/134 134]–|access-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref> Characteristic American dishes such as [[apple pie]], [[fried chicken]], [[doughnuts]], [[french fries]], [[macaroni and cheese]], [[ice cream]], [[Pizza in the United States|pizza]], [[hamburgers]], and [[hot dogs]] derive from the recipes of various immigrant groups.<ref>{{cite book|first=Hasia|last=Diner|title=Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration|publisher= Harvard University Press|place=Cmabridge|date=2001|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Tracy N.|last=Poe|title=The Origins of Soul Food in Black Urban Identity: Chicago, 1915-1947|journal=American Studies International|volume=37|issue=1|date=February 1999|page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2020/12/31/consumer-spending-data-kfc-is-the-most-popular.html|title=KFC is America's favorite fried chicken, data suggests|last=Cawthon|first=Haley|date=December 31, 2020|website=The Business Journals|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/food/america/the-history-of-the-pizza/|title=How Pizza Became America's Favorite Food|last=Russell|first=Joan|date=May 23, 2016|website=Paste|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref> [[Mexican-American cuisine|Mexican dishes]] such as [[burritos]] and [[tacos]] preexisted the United States in areas later annexed from Mexico, and [[American Chinese cuisine|adaptations of Chinese cuisine]] as well as [[Italian-American cuisine|pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources]] are all widely consumed.<ref name="IFT">{{cite web|url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/what-when-and-where-americans-eat-in-2003|author=Klapthor, James N.|title=What, When, and Where Americans Eat in 2003|publisher=Newswise/Institute of Food Technologists|date=August 23, 2003|access-date=June 19, 2007}}</ref> American [[chef]]s have had a significant impact on society both domestically and internationally. In 1946, the [[Culinary Institute of America]] was founded by [[Katharine Cramer Angell|Katharine Angell]] and [[Frances Roth]]. This would become the United States' most prestigious culinary school, where many of the most talented American chefs would study prior to successful careers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Story: CIA History {{!}} Culinary Institute of America |url=https://www.ciachef.edu/our-story/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |website=www.ciachef.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref name="FTfbs">{{cite news|last=Averbuch|first=Bonnie|title=Attention Food Entrepreneurs: School's Back in Business|publisher=[[Food Tank]]|url=https://foodtank.com/news/2015/09/attention-food-entrepreneurs-its-time-to-head-back-to-school/|date=September 2015|access-date=June 19, 2017}}</ref> The [[United States restaurant industry]] was projected at $899 billion in sales for 2020,<ref name=":p">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/03/20/cincinnati-restaurants-ask-feds-for-coronavirus.html|title=Cincinnati restaurants ask feds for coronavirus bailout|last=Brownfield|first=Andy|date=20 March 2020|website=login.research.cincinnatilibrary.org|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/elvaramirez/2020/03/19/the-restaurant-industry-needs-a-coronavirus-bailout-will-they-get-it/|title=The Restaurant Industry Needs A Coronavirus Bailout. Will They Get It?|last=Ramirez|first=Elva|website=[[Forbes]]|language=en|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref> and employed more than 15 million people, representing 10% of the nation's workforce directly.<ref name=":p" /> It is the country's second-largest private employer and the third-largest employer overall.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/22/819189939/closed-all-at-once-restaurant-industry-faces-collapse|title=Closed All At Once: Restaurant Industry Faces Collapse|last=Noguchi|first=Yuki|date=22 March 2020|publisher=[[NPR]]|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msnbc.com/stephanie-ruhle/watch/restaurant-industry-reeling-from-coronavirus-80967237571|title=Restaurant industry reeling from coronavirus|publisher=[[MSNBC]]|language=en|access-date=2020-03-22}}</ref> The United States is home to over 220 [[Michelin Star]] rated restaurants, 70 of which are in New York City alone.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Restaurants|url=https://guide.michelin.com/en/us/new-york-state/new-york/restaurants/1-star-michelin/2-stars-michelin/3-stars-michelin|access-date=2023-08-30|website=Michelin Guide|language=en}}</ref> [[American wine|Wine]] has been produced in what is now the United States since the 1500s, with the [[New Mexico wine|first widespread production beginning in what is now New Mexico]] in 1628.<ref>United States Department of Agriculture "[http://www.fas.usda.gov/agx/ISMG/Global%20Wine%20Report%20Final%20Aug2006.pdf Global Wine Report August 2006] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408235146/http://www.fas.usda.gov/agx/ISMG/Global%20Wine%20Report%20Final%20Aug2006.pdf |date=April 8, 2008 }}", pp. 7-9.</ref><ref name="Birchell Steel 2013 p.">{{cite book |last1=Birchell |first1=D.B. |last2=Steel |first2=G. |title=New Mexico Wine: An Enchanting History |publisher=American Palate |series=American Palate Series |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-60949-643-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5f0kvgAACAAJ | language=it |access-date=November 15, 2019}}</ref><ref name="New Mexico. Office of Cultural Affairs 1995 p.">{{cite book | author=New Mexico. Office of Cultural Affairs | title=Enchanted Lifeways: The History, Museums, Arts & Festivals of New Mexico | publisher=New Mexico Magazine | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-937206-39-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvoRAQAAIAAJ | access-date=November 15, 2019}}</ref> Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with [[California wine|California producing 84 percent of all US wine]]. With more than {{convert|1100000|acre|km2}} under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest [[List of wine-producing countries|wine producing country]] in the world, after [[Italian wine|Italy]], [[Spanish wine|Spain]], and [[French wine|France]].<ref name="Sotheby, p. 462">T. Stevenson, ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' Fourth Edition, p. 462, Dorling Kindersly, 2005 {{ISBN|0-7566-1324-8}}.</ref><ref name="Oxford, p. 719">J. Robinson, ed. ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', Third Edition, p. 719; Oxford University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-860990-6}}.</ref> The American [[fast-food]] industry, the world's first and largest, pioneered the [[drive-through]] format in the 1940s<ref name="drivethru">{{cite web|title=When Was the First Drive-Thru Restaurant Created?|url=https://www.wisegeek.org/when-was-the-first-drive-thru-restaurant-created.htm|website=Wisegeek.org|access-date=January 15, 2015}}</ref> and is often viewed as being a symbol of U.S. marketing dominance. American companies such as [[McDonald's]],<ref name="DeBres2005">Karen DeBres, "A Cultural Geography of McDonald's UK," Journal of Cultural Geography, 2005</ref> [[Burger King]], [[Pizza Hut]], [[Kentucky Fried Chicken]], and [[Domino's Pizza]], [[List of fast food restaurant chains#United_States|among many others]], have numerous outlets around the world.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why McDonald's in France Doesn't Feel Like Fast Food|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/01/24/145698222/why-mcdonalds-in-france-doesnt-feel-like-fast-food|last1=Breadsley|first1=Eleanor|publisher=NPR|date=January 24, 2012|access-date=October 29, 2023}}</ref> === Sports === {{Main|Sports in the United States}} {{See also|Professional sports leagues in the United States|National Collegiate Athletic Association|United States at the Olympics}} [[File:Commanders vs. Jaguars (52379056543).jpg|thumb|[[American football]] is the most popular sport in the United States; in this September 2022 [[National Football League]] game, the [[Jacksonville Jaguars]] play the [[Washington Commanders]] at [[FedExField]].]] The most popular spectator sports in the U.S. are [[American football in the United States|American football]], [[Basketball in the United States|basketball]], [[Baseball in the United States|baseball]], [[Soccer in the United States|soccer]], and [[Ice hockey in the United States|ice hockey]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sports |date=September 25, 2007 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/4735/sports.aspx |publisher=Gallup, Inc. |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> While most major U.S. sports such as baseball and American football have evolved out of European practices, basketball, [[Volleyball in the United States|volleyball]], [[skateboarding]], and [[snowboarding]] are American inventions, many of which have become popular worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Krasnoff |first=Lindsay Sarah |date=December 26, 2017 |title=How the NBA went global |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/12/26/how-the-nba-went-global/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226153302/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/12/26/how-the-nba-went-global/ |archive-date=December 26, 2017 |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=2269358}}</ref> [[Lacrosse in the United States|Lacrosse]] and [[Surfing in the United States|surfing]] arose from Native American and Native Hawaiian activities that predate European contact.<ref name="liss">Liss, Howard. ''Lacrosse'' (Funk & Wagnalls, 1970) pg 13.</ref> The market for professional sports in the United States was approximately $69 billion in July 2013, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined.<ref>{{cite web|date=June 18, 2008|title=Global sports market to hit $141 billion in 2012|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pwcstudy-idUSN1738075220080618|access-date=July 24, 2013|work=Reuters}}</ref> American football is by several measures the most popular spectator sport in the United States;<ref>{{cite web|author=Krane, David K.|title=Professional Football Widens Its Lead Over Baseball as Nation's Favorite Sport|url=https://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337|publisher=Harris Interactive|date=October 30, 2002|access-date=September 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709111448/https://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault8482.aspx?PID=337|archive-date=July 9, 2010}} MacCambridge, Michael (2004). ''America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation''. New York: Random House. {{ISBN|978-0-375-50454-9}}.</ref> the [[National Football League]] has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world, and the [[Super Bowl]] is watched by tens of millions globally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27321898/how-nfl-took-america-100-years|title=How the NFL took over America in 100 years|last=Guliza|first=Anthony|date=August 14, 2019|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=May 8, 2021}}</ref> However, baseball has been regarded as the U.S. "[[national sport]]" since the late 19th century. After American football, the next four most popular professional team sports are basketball, baseball, soccer, and ice hockey. Their premier leagues are, respectively, the [[National Basketball Association]], [[Major League Baseball]], [[Major League Soccer]], and the [[National Hockey League]]. The most-watched [[individual sport]]s in the U.S. are [[Golf in the United States|golf]] and [[auto racing]], particularly [[NASCAR]] and [[IndyCar]].<ref>{{cite web|date=January 16, 2014|title=As American as Mom, Apple Pie and Football? Football continues to trump baseball as America's Favorite Sport|url=https://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309053431/https://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris%20Poll%205%20-%202014%20Fave%20Sport_1.16.14.pdf|archive-date=March 9, 2014|access-date=July 2, 2014|website=Harris Interactive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Cowen, Tyler|author2=Grier, Kevin|date=February 9, 2012|title=What Would the End of Football Look Like?|url=https://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football|access-date=February 12, 2012|publisher=Grantland/ESPN}}</ref> On the [[College athletics in the United States|collegiate level]], earnings for the member institutions exceed $1 billion annually,<ref name="si">{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2018/03/07/ncaa-1-billion-revenue|title=Sports Illustrated: NCAA Reports $1.1 Billion in Revenues|newspaper=Sports Illustrated |date=March 7, 2018 }}</ref> and [[college football]] and [[College basketball|basketball]] attract large audiences, as the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA March Madness tournament]] and the [[College Football Playoff]] are some of the most watched national sporting events.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 19, 2013|title=Passion for College Football Remains Robust|url=https://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075223/https://www.footballfoundation.org/tabid/567/Article/53380/Passion-for-College-Football-Remains-Robust.aspx|archive-date=April 7, 2014|access-date=April 1, 2014|publisher=National Football Foundation}}</ref> In the U.S., the intercollegiate sports level serves as a feeder system for professional sports. This differs greatly from practices in nearly all other countries, where publicly and privately funded sports organizations serve this function.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rosandich|first= Thomas|title=Collegiate Sports Programs: A Comparative Analysis|page= 471|journal= Education|year=2002|volume=122|issue=3|publisher=Project Innovation Austin LLC.}}</ref> Eight [[Olympic Games]] have taken place in the United States. The [[1904 Summer Olympics]] in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], were the first-ever Olympic Games held outside of Europe.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schaus|first1=Gerald P.|last2=Wenn|first2=Stephen R.|title=Onward to the Olympics: Historical Perspectives on the Olympic Games|date=February 9, 2007|publisher=[[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]]|page=224|isbn=978-0-88920-505-5}}</ref> The Olympic Games will be held in the U.S. for a ninth time when Los Angeles hosts the [[2028 Summer Olympics]]. [[United States at the Olympics|U.S. athletes]] have won a total of 2,959 medals (1,173 gold) at the Olympic Games, the most of any country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://greatestsportingnation.com/|title=Greatest Sporting Nation|website=greatestsportingnation.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/olympics/the-1000-medals-of-the-united-states/| title = 1,000 times gold – The thousand medals of Team USA – Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The 10 most fascinating facts about the all-time Winter Olympics medal standings|first=Chris|last=Chase|date=February 7, 2014|work=USA Today|url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/winter-olympics-medal-count-sochi-all-time-facts/|access-date=February 28, 2014}} {{cite news|title=With Sochi Olympics approaching, a history of Winter Olympic medals|date=February 6, 2014|first=Dan|last=Loumena|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/06/sports/la-sp-a-history-of-the-winter-olympic-medals-20140206|access-date=February 28, 2014}}</ref> In international competition, the U.S. [[United States men's national soccer team|men's national soccer team]] has qualified for [[United States at the FIFA World Cup|eleven World Cups]], while the [[United States women's national soccer team|women's national team]] has [[United States at the FIFA Women's World Cup|won]] the [[FIFA Women's World Cup]] and [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Olympic soccer tournament]] four times each.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carlisle|first=Jeff|date=April 6, 2020|title=MLS Year One, 25 seasons ago: The Wild West of training, travel, hockey shootouts and American soccer|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4082408/mls-year-one25-seasons-ago-the-wild-west-of-trainingtravelhockey-shootouts-and-american-soccer|access-date=May 5, 2021|publisher=[[ESPN]]}}</ref> The United States hosted the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]] and will co-host, along with Canada and Mexico, the [[2026 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wamsley |first=Laurel |date=June 16, 2022 |title=The U.S. cities hosting the 2026 World Cup are announced |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105562734/us-cities-hosting-2026-world-cup-announcement |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> The [[1999 FIFA Women's World Cup]] was also hosted by the United States. Its [[1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final|final match]] was watched by 90,185, setting the world record for most-attended women's sporting event.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gerson |first=Aria |date=July 10, 2020 |title=Impact of 1999 Women's World Cup went far beyond Brandi Chastain's iconic goal |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2020/07/10/1999-womens-world-cup-uswnt-iconic-moments-brandi-chastain/5405459002/ |work=USA Today |accessdate=February 14, 2024}}</ref> == See also == {{Portal|United States}} * [[Lists of U.S. state topics]] * [[Outline of the United States]] == Notes == {{notelist | colwidth = | notes = {{efn | name = pop | Excludes [[Puerto Rico]] and the other [[Unincorporated territories of the United States|unincorporated islands]] because they are counted separately in [[U.S. census]] statistics }} {{efn | name = time | See [[Time in the United States]] for details about laws governing time zones in the United States. }} {{efn | name = drive | A single jurisdiction, the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], uses left-hand traffic. }} }} == References == {{reflist}} === Sources === {{refbegin|30em}} * {{cite book |editor1-last=Baym |editor1-first=Nina |editor2-last=Levine |editor2-first=Robert S. |date=2013 |title=The Norton Anthology of American Literature |publisher=W.W. 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Bush|ref=Daynes|publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]]|year=2010|page=320|url=https://archive.org/details/whitehousepoliti0000dayn|url-access=registration|isbn=978-1-60344-254-1|oclc=670419432|quote=Presidential environmental policies, 1933–2009}} * {{cite book |last1=Foner |first1=Eric |title=Give Me Liberty: An American History |date=2020 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York - London |isbn=978-0-393-44123-9 |edition=6th |volume=1 |url=https://archive.org/details/give-me-liberty-an-american-history-eric-foner-z-lib.org_20220819}} Ebook. * {{cite book|first1=Jon M|last1=Erlandson|first2=Torben C|last2=Rick|first3=Rene L|last3=Vellanoweth|title=A Canyon Through Time: Archaeology, History, and Ecology of the Tecolote Canyon Area, Santa Barbara County|location=California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeTv2lmb79UC&pg=PA19|year=2008|publisher=University of Utah Press|isbn=978-0-87480-879-7}} * {{cite book|first=Brian M.|last=Fagan|title=Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9lqCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA390|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-35027-9}} * {{cite book|first1=Sylvan G.|last1=Feldstein|first2=Frank J.|last2=Fabozzi|title=The Handbook of Municipal Bonds|ref=Feldstein|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|year=2011|page=1376|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Juc4fb1Fx1cC|isbn=978-1-118-04494-0}} * {{cite book|first=Tim|last= Flannery|title=The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkkyBgAAQBAJ|date=2015|publisher=Open Road + Grove/Atlantic|isbn=978-0-8021-9109-0}} * {{cite book|last1=Fraser|first1=Steve|first2=Gary|last2=Gerstle|author-link2=Gary Gerstle|ref=Fraser|title=The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order: 1930–1980|series=American History: Political science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yd4GqkP5XYgC&pg=PA229|year=1989|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-00607-9|page=311}} * {{cite book|last=Gaddis|first=John Lewis|title=The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941–1947|year=1972|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-12239-9 }} * {{cite book|last=Gordon|first=John Steele|author-link=John Steele Gordon|ref=Gordon|title=An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power|year=2004|publisher=HarperCollins|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofwealthth00gord|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-06-009362-4 }} * {{cite book|first1=Michael Robert|last1=Haines|first2=Michael R.|last2= Haines|first3=Richard H.|last3=Steckel|title=A Population History of North America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPdgiysIVcgC&pg=PA12|date= 2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-49666-7 }} * {{cite news|title=Looking back 20 years: Who deserves credit for ending the Cold War?|first=Nick|last=Hayes|ref=Hayes|url=https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2009/11/looking-back-20-years-who-deserves-credit-ending-cold-war|newspaper=MinnPost|date=November 6, 2009|access-date=March 11, 2013}} * {{cite book|last1=Hoopes|first1=Townsend|last2=Brinkley|first2=Douglas|title=FDR and the Creation of the U.N|url=https://archive.org/details/fdrcreationofun00hoop|url-access=registration|year=1997|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-08553-2 }} * {{cite book|last=Howe |first=Daniel Walker |title=What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 |date=2008 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195078947 |url=https://archive.org/details/whathathgodwroug00howe |url-access=registration }} * {{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Paul|title=A History of the American People|year=1997|publisher=HarperCollins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RXSVQjz1_tMC|isbn=978-0-06-195213-5}} * {{cite book|first=Paul|last= Joseph|title=The Sage Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=idw0DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA590|date=2016|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=978-1-4833-5988-5 }} * {{cite book |editor-last=Lauter |editor-first=Paul |year=1994a |volume=1 |edition=2nd |url=https://archive.org/details/heathanthologyof00v1unse_e3d7 |title=The Heath Anthology of American Literature |publisher=D.C. 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Heath and Company |location=Lexington, Massachusetts |isbn=0-669-32973-8}} * {{cite book|first=Craig|last= Lockard|title=Societies, Networks, and Transitions, Volume B: From 600 to 1750|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k91sCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA315|year=2010|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-111-79083-7}} * {{cite book|last=Lien|first=Arnold Johnson|title=Studies in History, Economics, and Public Law|volume=54|ref=Lien|publisher=Columbia University|location=New York|year=1913|page=604|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYpVAAAAYAAJ}} * {{cite book|title=The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge: A Desk Reference for the Curious Mind|edition=2nd|url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesguid00|year=2007|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-37659-8 }} * {{cite book|first=Mary|last=Mostert|title=The Threat of Anarchy Leads to the Constitution of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jntSQ-yn66AC&pg=PA18|year=2005|publisher=CTR Publishing, Inc.|isbn=978-0-9753851-4-2}} * {{cite book|first=Peter S.|last=Onuf|title=The Origins of the Federal Republic: Jurisdictional Controversies in the United States, 1775–1787|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcUgLPqmfuYC|year=2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-0038-6}} * {{cite book|first1=Theda|last1= Perdue|first2=Michael D|last2=Green|title=The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Southeast|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-RBJCyp2bFIC&pg=PA40|date= 2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50602-1}} * {{cite book|last=Quirk|first=Joel|title=The Anti-Slavery Project: From the Slave Trade to Human Trafficking|ref=Quirk|year=2011|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqxK4KlqKYMC|isbn=978-0-8122-4333-8|page=344}} * {{cite book|last=Remini|first=Robert V.|title=The House: The History of the House of Representatives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CAM6J6IoQFQC|year=2007|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-134111-3}} * {{cite book|last=Ripper|first=Jason|title=American Stories: To 1877|year=2008|ref=Ripper2008|publisher=M.E. 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Norton |volume=1 |edition=Brief 10th |isbn=978-0393265941 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanarrative0001shid}} * {{cite book|last=Soss|first=Joe|editor-last=Hacker|editor-first=Jacob S.|editor2-last=Mettler|editor2-first=Suzanne|ref=Soss|title=Remaking America: Democracy and Public Policy in an Age of Inequality|year=2010|publisher=Russell Sage Foundation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JttyjBoyb3AC|isbn=978-1-61044-694-5 }} * {{cite book|ref=Stannard|last=Stannard|first=David E.|author-link=David Stannard|title=American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World|year=1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/americanholocaus00stan|isbn=978-0-19-508557-0 }} * {{cite book|first=Russell|last=Thornton|title=Studying Native America: Problems and Prospects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_EA-UwvN_HUC&pg=PA34|year=1998|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-16064-7 }} * {{Cite book |last=Walker Howe |first=Daniel |title=[[What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-972657-8 |author-link=Daniel Walker Howe}} * {{cite book|last1=Walton|first1=Gary M.|last2=Rockoff|first2=Hugh|title=History of the American Economy|year=2009|ref=Walton|publisher=Cengage Learning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lyhI1q_E4G0C|isbn=978-0-324-78662-0 }} * {{cite journal|last1=Waters|first1=M.R.|last2=Stafford|first2=T W.|title=Redefining the Age of Clovis: Implications for the Peopling of the Americas|journal=Science|volume=315|issue=5815|year=2007|pages=1122–1126|issn=0036-8075|doi=10.1126/science.1137166|pmid=17322060|bibcode=2007Sci...315.1122W|s2cid=23205379}} * {{cite book|last=Winchester|first=Simon|title=The men who United the States|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780062079602|url-access=registration|year=2013|publisher=Harper Collins|isbn=978-0-06-207960-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780062079602/page/198 198], 216, 251, 253}} * {{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Gavin |year=2022 |title=Slavery and the Rise of the Nineteenth-Century American Economy |url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.36.2.123 |journal=[[Journal of Economic Perspectives]] |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=123–148 |doi=10.1257/jep.36.2.123 |s2cid=248716718 }} * {{cite book|last=Zinn|first=Howard|author-link=Howard Zinn|title=A People's History of the United States|ref=Zinn|year=2005|publisher=[[Harper Perennial]] Modern Classics|isbn=978-0-06-083865-2|title-link=A People's History of the United States }} :{{Free-content attribution | title = World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 | author = FAO | publisher = FAO | documentURL = https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en | license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/whttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Food_and_Agriculture_-_Statistical_Yearbook_2023.pdf | license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 }} {{refend}} == External links == {{Library resources box}} <!-- Please: 1) Follow the [[WP:EL]] guideline and discuss on the talk page. 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